Sachin Pilot seeks CBI probe into Vasundhara Raje’s Agusta Westland tender

NEW DELHI: Taking on the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in Rajasthan, Congress has demanded a CBI probe into its attempt to purchase a chopper for the Chief Minister’s travel in a departure from norms by specifying an AgustaWestland model.

A day after an ET report, State Congress Chief Sachin Pilot issued a statement asking for a CBI probe into the matter, raising questions on how a tender was floated specifying that the government wanted an AW 169 chopper, against the norm for open competition in which technical specifications and seating capacity is mentioned.

Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also raised questions, saying that the process was designed to favour only one company and asking the Raje government to explain the reason behind its ‘strange tender’.

Pilot had earlier this year raked up the controversy over a 2005 contract signed by the BJP government in Rajasthan, then too led by Raje, in which an Agusta AW 109 chopper was bought.

This procurement had been redflagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in a 2008 audit report.

“The state governments attempt to favour AgustaWestland for the contract as well as the findings of the CAG report should be probed by the CBI that is looking into the (VVIP Chopper) Agusta deal,” Pilot said, asking for direct action against Raje.

Gehlot, in a series of tweets called the Raje government’s tender ‘fishy’. “The CAG report had found irregularities in the deal that had caused a loss of Rs 1.14 crore to the state exchequer. Now again justifying the deal with the same company as a buyback arrangement seems fishy. What is quid pro quo in deal, state govt needs to answer.”