No cover-up in Scorpene deal: Cong

New Delhi, Apr 7 (UNI) The Congress today repudiated BJP's charge that the former was seeking to cover up the scandal in the Scorpene submarine deal and said it was the opposition party which was engaged in the coverup.

Reiterating the charge that the previous National Democratic Alliance Government had offered to pay Rs 300 crore more than was required to the French company in the deal, Congress Spokesman Rajeev Shukla said the question why the NDA did so still remained unanswered.

Mr Shukla clarified that the so-called middleman Abhishek Verma had no role in the deal. In fact, Abhishek had nothing to do with the Congress. Simply because his father was a Congress leader did not mean that Abhishek too was a Congressman, he added.

Mr Shukla recalled that it was the NDA Government which had got a clause inserted in the deal to provide for a middleman.

Asked why the Centre was not probing the offer of excess payment of Rs 300 crore to the French company in the deal, he said the Congress had already urged the Defence Minister to have the matter inquired into. The CBI was inquiring into the Scorpene deal, he added.

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