The Bofors Joke
Update: Sunday, March 11, 1-00 pm
He does it again ! 'Vajpayee Said it in Jest': George
from our political correspondent
New Delhi: In a live interview given to a private TV channel on early Sunday afternoon, former union defence minister George Fernandes has said that it was a joke on the part of former PM A B Vajpayee to have asked him not to touch the Bofors file.
With feathers having been ruffled in political circles in various parts of the country over Fernandes' statement in Dharamsala on Saturday that Vajpayee had 'prevented' him from seeing the Bofors file, perhaps a statement of this kind became necessary for him.
Now he has clarified that Vajpayee had said it in jest and in fact he (Fernandes) did go through the Bofors file. He pointed out that he had been 'misquoted', which appears to have become a pet expression for politicians, irrespective of party affiliations, even after going on record on TV broadcasts, to wriggle out of any uncomfortable situation.
Some cryptic replies he gave to TV channel's interviewer:
- I have seen the Bofors file.
- Vajpayee did not prevent me from seeing the file
- We talked about the procurement of Bofors guns
- We did not talk about the investigation part
- He said in jest 'Haath mat lagao' (Don't lay your hands).
This episode attains significance in the wake of BJP's tying up with JD(U) with Bihar stalwarts Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav at the helm, whereas George Fernandes is not in the picture. In this connection, Fernandes maintained during the Sunday interview that he was not being sidelined in the NDA.
However, this clarification notwithstanding, the dust that his Saturday's statement has raised might take long to settle down, said political analysts, who added that there could further breach in the relationship within the NDA combine.
PTI
New Delhi, Mar 11: NDA convener George Fernandes said on Saturday night that when he was the Defence Minister, then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had asked him not to open the Bofors file.
Olden, golden days together: file pic of Fernandes and Vajpayee
"I don't know why he asked me not to do so," he told journalists in Dharamsala.
Reacting to his remarks, the BJP rejected Fernandes' charge saying it was during Vajpayee's regime that the legal proceedings moved ahead in the Bofors case.
"I don't want to get into why and in what context, he (Fernandes) is saying all these after so long a time. He is senior leader. But I would like to assert that it was the Vajpayee government that took the initiative to take legal moves in the case," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
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