Nitish questions NDA govt's sincerity into Agusta deal probe

Patna, Apr 30: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today questioned the seriousness of NDA government in probing the AgustaWestland helicopter deal and said an "impartial" investigation should be held so that the guilty are punished.

"Why so much time is being taken for the inquiry into the deal of AgustaWestland chopper? Why has not the Centre completed the probe into the deal so far?" Kumar told reporters while replying to a query on the chopper deal.

"The present government is not serious regarding probe into the chopper deal...they are only looking for excuses for making speeches on the issue," the JD(U) President said, virtually echoing the stand of the Congress which is facing heat in Parliament over the matter.

Earlier, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had questioned Kumar's "silence" over the chopper deal in which Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is under attack from ruling party.

The erstwhile UPA government had said that the deal was cancelled when allegation of irregularities came into picture and a probe team was constituted into it, Kumar said adding "why the probe is going on for past two years (under present government)?".

He said an impartial inquiry should be held into the alleged irregularities in the Rs 3600 VVIP chopper deal with AgustaWestland. "Whosoever is guilty should be punished," he added.

PTI