Congress rejects demand for CBI probe into Rs,10,000 crore missile deal

New Delhi: The Indian National Congress today rejected a Communist Party of India (Marxist) demand for a CBI probe into alleged kickbacks in awarding a Rs10,000-crore air defence missile deal to an Israeli company, terming it as "preposterous, unsound and baseless".

"The demand for a CBI or any other inquiry is preposterous, unsound and baseless. All such deals are made as per the laid down procedure with transparency," AICC media department chief M Veerappa Moily told reporters here.

Earlier the communist party's Politburo had alleged in a statement that the missile production deal with the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) was "an unnecessary contract" involving massive bribes and demanded a CBI probe into it.

The statement posed eight questions to the government questioning the need for going ahead with the deal, ands asked it should provide answers to the queries from the party because of the "seriousness of the charges" of kickbacks.

It also reminded the government of the two letters it had written in March 2008 and February 2009 against awarding of the deal.

The Left parties had asked in the letter to the prime minister in March 2008 that the $2.5 billion deal for developing a medium-range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) with the IAI should not be proceeded with due to the fact that the earlier Barak missile deal signed with the Israeli company in 2000 was under CBI investigation for alleged bribes.

The statement said AK Antony, the defence minister, had replied to the letter saying "if there is any impropriety or violation of law, action would be taken."

V Moily, the Congress spokesman responded saying the government would be unable to function if all purchases and deals had to be put under the CBI scanner. "Defence minister AK Antony has an impeccable value of character, integrity and transparency," Moliy said, adding that "there cannot even be an inference of wrongdoing".

Queried, as to what would be the Party's stand should the matter become an election issue, Moily said anybody who raises an issue should come up with the details.

"There is only a political motive behind such demands... It is for the defence ministry to come out with the detailed reply if they want to...," Moily added.