George nailed! Kalam had opposed Barak

NEW DELHI: As scientific adviser to the prime minister in 1999, APJ Abdul Kalam, had opposed the purchase of the Barak anti-missile system. In what has kicked the bottom off the former minister George Fernandes’ chief defence, a letter from Mr Kalam opposing the induction of the system has surfaced.

In his communication to the then defence minister, Mr Kalam had raised questions about the system’s operational efficiency. According to Mr Kalam, the system had a 50% failure rate. After the CBI on Tuesday alleged that Rs 2 crore was paid to Ms Jaya Jaitly for the clearance of the deal, and filed an FIR against the former defence minister, Mr Fernandes had claimed that the deal was recommended by Mr Kalam.

“After I joined the ministry, the Navy insisted that they needed the missile. I took the advice of A P J Abdul Kalam, who was the then scientific advisor to the PM. Then I took the decision,” Mr Fernandes had said.

The development is a big setback for Mr Fernandes who used the ‘Kalam-was-in-the-know’ claim for fending off attacks from the ruling side. The latest revelation is sure to give fresh ammunition to Mr Fernandes’ rivals.

Nevertheless, the BJP rallied behind the former defence minister, describing the registration of the corruption case as “an exercise in political vendetta.’’

“Registration of the FIR against Mr Fernandes signals total politicisation of the CBI. It shuts and opens cases as per the wishes of the political bosses...Opening the case in the Barak deal is a clear instance of political vendetta as the Phukan Commission had found no wrongdoing in the purchase,’’ BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said here on Wednesday afternoon.

Rejecting the charge of any irregularity in the deal, the BJP spokesman found it strange that the UPA government had itself ordered seven more Barak missile systems in January this year from the same suppliers. ``The Barak missile system was selected after comparing the Russian and the French missiles much before the NDA assumed office,’’ he said.