State corruption: Arm dealers worried as India
cancels $753 million military deal
-DR. ABDUL RUFF
COLACHAL
_______________
Regimes and mafias deal in human
tragedies by wasting the hard earned money of the people of the
nation on terror goods.
The arms traders, the merchants of death,
are the special guests of every terrocratic
regime on earth.
While nuclear agents and middle guys,
being promoted by the regime, continue to thrive at
the miseries of common people at the nuclear zones, who
face impending danger awaiting them due to anti-humanity
decisions of the ruling elites, the middle men
and mafias engage din deals in
conventional terror goods do not lag behind in nay
way.
A good number of military mediators are
being pampered by Indian regime to gain huge prophets form military deals.
Obviously, a handsome share of profits so made by the rich mediators then is
channeled to ruling party that rules the nation.
Elections are also fought with such dirty
money as well.
The famous Bofors gun scam is yet to be
finalized and details revealed to public because the ruling party is involved
in it, and it shields the culprits.
By citing the so-called security
reasons, the details of military deals are not debated by the
parliament which gives a carpet go ahead with the
nefarious military deals.
Judiciary and investigative agencies of
Indian state do not bother about all such so-called national interests of
politicians and mafias. .
An important development has taken place in
India now as the regime has just cancelled a big military deal.
India, one of most corrupt
nations around and known for its weaponry hunger
promoting
rich billionaire mediators for huge benefits in
between the deals, has on new year day cancelled a 556-million-euro
($753 million) contract with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland to buy luxury
helicopters for VIPs amid bribery allegations.
India allows corruption links
thrive and the cancellation of $753 million military deal comes after
uneasiness in PMO over the issue and more than a year after media reports that
two top officials of the company had allegedly paid bribes to bag the contract.
A military ministry statement said the
government had "terminated with immediate effect the agreement" with
Italian AgustaWestland International Ltd (AWIL) to supply 12 helicopters
"on grounds of breach of a pre-contract integrity pact and the agreement
by AWIL". India suspended the deal in 2013 after Italian investigators
began looking into accusations that AgustaWestland paid bribes to win the
contract.
The chopper deal signed in February 2010 by
the UPA government was scrapped after Military Minister A. K. Antony, concerned
about growing military scandals, held a meeting with PM Manmohan Singh whose
Congress-led government has been buffeted by a string of corruption scandals.
India has already received three of the
helicopters, intended to be used by such dignitaries as the prime minister and
the president, but Antony halted deliveries of the remaining nine. India's
auditor general said in a report last year that the defence ministry
"deviated from procurement procedure and tender on several instances in
the deal" including altitude requirements.
Indian detectives raided the home of former
air force chief S.P. Tyagi as part of the probe into the allegations of
bribery. Cash was allegedly handed to Tyagi's cousin, with more money funneled
via a web of middlemen and companies in London, Switzerland, Tunisia and
Mauritius.
The Italian boss of AgustaWestland's parent
company Finmeccanica was arrested last February over the case -- touching off a
firestorm in India. The latest move by the Indian military ministry is seen as
a government attempt to contain the fallout from the corruption scandal before
elections due by May.
In November, the helicopter maker had
sought arbitration to try to salvage the contract, a request that the Indian
government had rejected. But India has now appointed its own arbitrator
"with a view to safeguard the interest of the government.
Indian UPA government had believed
"integrity-related issues are not subject to arbitrations," however,
AWIL (AgustaWestland) has since pressed for arbitration and appointed an
arbiter from its side. "In view of this, the Ministry of Defence sought
afresh the opinion of the attorney general.”With a view to safeguard the
interest of the government, the MOD has nominated Justice B.P. Jeevan as its arbitrator."
India obliges foreign weapon companies.
Italian prosecutors suspect kickbacks worth around 10 percent of the deal --
$67.6 million (50 million euros) -- were paid to Indian officials to swing the
deal in favour of AgustaWestland, according to Italian media reports.
Indian regime and its system provide
easy escape routes for corrupt criminals who loot nation’s resources by
using the secrecy norms of the regime that claim absolute secrecy
in what they call security matters.
The purchase also came under scrutiny from
Italian investigators probing allegations the Italian group had broken the law
by bribing foreign officials. The company, having connections with the regime
and ministers, boldly denies any wrongdoing.
The cancellation is expected to be a major
blow to secret deals for military equipment procurement from firms like
AgustaWestland, which has a factory in southwest England. The decision will
also be a severe setback to Finmeccanica, whose chief executive Giuseppe Orsi resigned
from behind prison bars last February.
Proud of its mafias, corrupt leaders,
billionaires and multinationals, India has been very kind to promoters of
corruption and hence has been very tolerant with foreign governments
interfering with domestic affairs. Leaders expect huge profits from other
countries.
Last year a few Indians were shot dead from
an Italian ship on the sea in Kerala but Indian government faithfully send the
criminal-terrorists back to Italy to celebrate festivals there.
The logic is even though the military deal
is cancelled there would concerted effort s from the ministers and mafias to
get the deal back and go for further terror good deals for private
profits.
.
That is how Indian system operates.
It is here that the role of a party
like Aam Aadmi Party gains all the more importance to save the nation
from official looters. .
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