Ottavio Quattrocchi

The Bofors affair wasn’t a scam at all. It was a sting mounted by the mysterious ‘N’ of the Ardbo diaries.

The smell of cordite over Bofors has subsided, but one question nags still: why did Bofors pay Q? Thereby hangs a shameful tale of missed chances.

I’m a sycophant and loyalist—the perfect Congressman who can do U-turns at the drop of a hat

The 'Q' accounts aren't the target. The world is against secret stashing.

The great political scams of the last 60 years reflect their times, but also fit a timeless definition of corruption: abuse of public power for private gain. A trip down murky memory lane.

India's only hope is Argentina's new legal zeal

Ottavio's son Massimo says the family understands that it's "nothing personal"

The CBI trips over itself in the latest Quattrocchi goof-up Updates

Ottavio Quattrocchi. Vincent George. Abhishek Verma. Does CBI sagaciously judge people by the company they keep? If they keep company with Soniaji they must all be okay. No?

Volcker. Amar Singh. Quattrocchi. Supreme Court on Bihar. The UPA government is solving problems so rapidly that soon there may be no problem. Because there may be no India?

The CBI giving a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler or, as reported in the Indian Express today, dropping charges against Quattrocchi in the middle of an election campaign, is only symptomatic of  this Congress-led UPA government's biggest problem: Its hubris.

The CBI as an independent institution never had much credibility. This government ensured that whatever was left has been ground to the dust.

Off-hand, consider the cases against Mayawati. Mulayam Singh. Jagdish Tytler. Bofors...

And in all of them it's the same cynical, brazen and blatant arrogance on display, as the Congress went about subverting due process in sheer disregard.

Apart from these, equally  randomly, consider Nanavati Commission of Enquiry on 1984 carnage, Jharkhand, Goa, Bihar, Office of Profit, Navin Chawla, Pratibha Patil, Volcker...

In all of these cases, the party seemed to think that it could literally get away with just about anything. And, whenever cornered, it has sought to adopt the higher moral ground

By dropping a Natwar Singh then or a Jagdish Tytler now, the party seems to think it has done the nation a favour, and merrily gone back to business as usual, issuing its empty sermons on secularism.

Brazenly undermining institutions,   particularly the CBI, will be some of this outgoing government's lasting achievements.

Update:  April 29: More Brazenness

• Attorney General Milon Banerji says: No appeal filed so set Q free. Doesn’t mention he scuttled appeal
  
  
• Union Law Minister’s gem: I signed file...foreigners are not like us, they want logical conclusion

Full coverage:

Bofors

'I hold Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress president Smt. Sonia Gandhi directly responsible for colluding in this conspiracy to bury the truth about Bofors'

The timing of the withdrawal of the the Red Corner notice against Ottavio Quattrocchi is an indication that the leadership of the UPA is so convinced of the loss of its power that, like most despotic regimes, it is obliging its friends in the last da

So why has the government stalled anti-corruption help from Germany? It should accept it at least to avoid another round of possibly unwarranted harassment of Mr Quattrocchi...

The jibe by Quattrocchi's lawyer, that CBI did not argue its case properly, might well be perceived then in an altogether different, sinister light. Updates

Recent indications suggest that the differences over Ottavio Quattrocchi have assumed the dimensions of a rift at the very top, playing havoc with governance.

It turns out that this time too—a classic repeat of what happened almost a year back—the nation learnt of Bofors payoff-accused Ottavio Quattrocchi's detention when he was already out on bail! The Congress and CBI brazen it out.

Mr Ottavio Quattrocchi is in Argentinean custody not because but in spite of the government and the powers that be. The globalization of investigation in the Bofors case could possibly tie the hands of the UPA government.

It is no use looking up to America to learn how the war against terror should be fought. Can India summon zero tolerance towards political corruption, on which terrorism feeds? Unless that is done, there can be no real war on terror.

It degenerated from a movement to a party, from a party to a dynasty. It has outlived its historical role. It must be consigned to the dustbin of history. India needs a new party, a new political culture and a new freedom struggle.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has constructive responsibility for all actions of the party. Should she not act to clear the air about circumstantial evidence pointing to corruption by her party? And safeguard her own reputation?