Cancel missile system contract to Israeli firm: Left

NEW DELHI: Opposing the grant of a contract to an Israeli defence firm for supply of missile defence systems, the Left parties have asked the government to cancel the Rs 10,000 crore deal and not "subvert" India's own missile programme which was superior.

It was surprising that "such a contract has been given when the Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is already under investigation of the CBI on charges of bribery and corruption for the anti-ship, ship-mounted Barak missile system," top Left leaders, Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan, said in a signed letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Maintaining that the alleged "violation of Indian laws" by IAI had been brought to the Prime Minister's notice earlier, the General Secretaries of the CPI(M) and CPI said India had in the past blacklisted Swedish firm Bofors and South African company Denel for similar cases of kickbacks and middlemen.

They alleged that the deal "brings out the unfortunate influence the Israeli arms manufacturers including government-owned entities assert on India's arms purchases."

"Nothing else can explain why IAI, which is seriously implicated in corruption in India, should be favoured in this way," Karat and Bardhan said in the letter.