Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh knew about Tatra deal: Karnataka leader

Click to play video

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pratibha Patil, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Defence Minister AK Antony were aware of the Tatra-Bharat Earth Movers Limited deal in which kickbacks were taken, claims a Karnataka leader. D Hanumanthappa, president of the Karnataka wing of All India Federation of SC/ST/Backward Class and Minority Employees Welfare Association, said that he had written a letter in 2009 to the Prime Minister and the President about the deal, which is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Hanumanthappa claimed that he had sent copies of his letter to Sonia and Antony as well with the Congress President asking senior Congress leader and Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to forward the letter to concerned department.

Claiming that he wants to save democracy and make the country's defence forces stronger, Hanumanthappa said that he wrote about the Tatra-BEML deal in detail.

A press release by the Defence Ministry on Friday said that after receiving a letter from Azad in October 2009, forwarding the complaints of Hanumanthappa, Antony had asked the Secretary (Defence Production) to look into the various issues raised in the complaint.

"A day after receiving a letter from Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, on 05 Oct 2009, forwarding the complaints of Dr. D Hanumanthappa, addressed to Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi on BEML, the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony had asked the Secretary (Defence Production) to look into the various issues raised in the complaint. Records show that the vigilance wings of MoD and BEML are examining the matter and there are also correspondence between the CBI and Chief Vigilance Officer of BEML on these allegations. Meanwhile, the Defence Minister has accorded his sanction for a CBI investigation on 21 Feb 2012 in another case relating to BEML, much before a newspaper report was published on 26 Mar 2012," the statement released by Defence Ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said.