New Delhi: Indecisiveness has been the hallmark of Defence Minister AK Antony’s seven-year tenure spread across UPA-I and UPA-II. Major Defence scams, the latest being the AgustaWestland chopper deal, continued to hit the establishment under him at regular intervals. But Antony acted, or rather was forced to act, only after the media zealously revealed the scandals.
Intriguingly, even though the Defence Ministry has a vigilance machinery in place to keep track of wrongdoings, Antony opted to go slow till these scandals blew up. He shied away from ordering probes promptly despite the media regularly exposing the scams.
Moreover, Antony cannot pass the buck to his predecessor Pranab Mukherjee for changing the specifications of the tender for the VVIP helicopters as the flight trials, technical evaluation and commercial negotiations were carried out during his own tenure.
The trials started in 2007 and the remaining processes followed with the deal finally inked in 2010.Antony has been at the helm throughout the period. He took charge as Defence Minister in 2006 when Mukherjee moved to External Affairs.
17/02/13 Daily Pioneer
