Why Congress opposed to probe into Quattrocchi's role in Bofors, asks BJP

NEW DELHI: BJP today condemned Congress' conduct in Parliament on the latest information on Bofors issue and demanded Sonia Gandhi explain why her party "is opposed" to an impartial probe into the role of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the scam.

"The conduct of the Congress in Parliament today has pained us. Former Swedish Police chief Sten Lindstrom, who is the whistleblower in the case and investigated the case, has said publicly that there is conclusive evidence against Quattrocchi but Congress does not want this to be probed," BJP Chief Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Taking digs at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Prasad said BJP understands his "compulsions and limitations".

"With due respect to the office he occupies, he was a simple civil servant when Bofors took place," Prasad said.

The opposition party asked Congress President Sonia Gandhi why her party was "not ready for an impartial probe" into the Bofors case though she had said recently that corruption will be dealt with severely.

"You are being tested against this benchmark... Is Quattrocchi such an important individual that the mere mention of his name makes the Congress belligerant?" Prasad said.

He cautioned Congress that India is more aware in 2012 than it was in 1987 or 1991 when the Bofors issue was at its peak.

"An investigation vitiated by fraud is no investigation," Prasad said, terming the Bofors case as one of "rank fraud".