BJP demands SIT investigation 

(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday demanded the setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the controversial Rs30.5 billion VVIP chopper deal "since there are doubts about the UPA government conducting an impartial inquiry into the scam."

Speaking to mediapersons in Hyderabad, The former BJP President said the SIT probe should ideally be carried out under the supervision of either the Supreme Court or a Parliamentary Committee.

He said: "Because the Congress is notorious for misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for partisan political ends, a probe by the investigating agency is not acceptable to the BJP. CBI has no credibility and the government's intention is also doubtful."

Stating that the matter was raised in Parliament in 2011 besides writing a letter to the Defence Minister, Naidu said the federal government failed to act on the issue despite the pressure. "The government talked about a CBI inquiry only after a case was filed over the issue in Italy and the revelations came to light that payments were made to Indian middlemen too," he said.

"We do not have confidence in CBI because we have seen how the investigating agency, the Governor's institution, the Income Tax department, the Enforcement Directorate and all other organisations are being misused by the government, one, to harass political opponents, secondly, to keep its allies under control and third, to win over neutrals," he alleged.

Stating that the UPA government was trying to side-track the issue by claiming that the scam had its roots when NDA was in power, Naidu maintained that "nothing started during the NDA regime. BJP would not mind even if the inquiry covered from 2003 (when NDA was in power).