New Delhi: The recent Kissinger Cables released by Wikileaks might have suggested that former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, could have been an "entrepreneur" for Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab-Scania for its Viggen fighter aircraft. But, Gandhi was, perhaps, more than just that.
A Business Standard investigation reveals Gandhi's name also figured in the decision-making process that led to the controversial purchase of three Boeing 737 aircraft by Indian Airlines in 1976-77. The purchase and Gandhi's role in it have been described in the report of the Justice J C Shah Commission, which probed the excesses during the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi for almost 21 months from June 26, 1975. The Boeing deal, concluded in February 1977, was valued at Rs 30.55 crore.
The Kissinger Cables, containing American diplomatic messages, had assessed only Gandhi's "family" connections as valuable in aircraft procurement deals. The Shah Commission report, on the other hand, in the section dealing with the Boeing aircraft purchase, goes a step ahead to point out that "the visit of Rajiv Gandhi to the office of the chairman of Indian Airlines (IA) where he was shown the financial projections by the director of finance, apparently under the instructions of the chairman, was a procedure which was totally outside the ordinary course of business".
18/04/13 Kavita Chowdhury/Business Standard
