10-15-2006, 04:12 AM
<!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo--> btw: VP and Babbar's paty is Jan Morcha
George won't seek bail, demands JPC
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
In a room at 3, Krishna Menon Marg, two huge pictures of a young man in short trousers and horn-rimmed glasses decorate the walls. The man's hands are chained and he stands surrounded by cops. But the face looks defiant, and a half smile curls his lips.
That was George Fernandes in 1976, victim of Indira Gandhi's tyranny, accused in Vadodara dynamite case, a rabble rouser trade unionists, and died-in-wool socialist. Thirty years down the line, his hair have turned grey and eyes look confused. But the defiance remains the hallmark of the former Defence Minister, who stands accused of corruption in the acquisition of Barak missile from Israel.
"Indira Gandhi fought and lost... her daughter-in-law will meet the same fate," says George, accusing Congress president Sonia Gandhi of being the architect of the CBI case against him.
"The country knows what I stand for....people of the nation will fight my battle," he said in an exclusive interview.
For a man who is not unfamiliar to prisons, Fernandes is ready to go behind the bars again. "I won't even apply for bail. Let them come and arrest me," he said.
But, he demanded a probe by a joint parliamentary committee into all major defence deals of UPA Government. "I don't have any trust in the CBI. They are servants of the Government. A JPC probe could establish fears that middlemen and agents are not only clinching deals during the UPA Government, but also posing a threat to national security."
Fernandes said that the controversy surrounding the Scorpene submarine deal and War room leakage have common players. "I'm afraid the Government will never allow the truth to come out. Today, the country's most secret and strategic information are being sold out to enemies," he said.
Fernandes recalled that the Justice Phukan commission, which went into a spate of defence deals, including Barak, had given him a clean chit. "Let the Government deny that I was given clean chit by Justice Phukan," he said.
He said that the UPA Government wound up the Phukan inquiry commission before it could submit its final report because it wanted to implicate him by hook or by crook. "It is not an afterthought. Even when they wrapped up the Phukan commission, I told the media that I feared the worst."
Fernandes accused the Congress of subverting vitals organs of governance and misusing agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation to settle political scores. "It is sad. But I don't expect anything better from a party which imposed Emergency," he said.
Years and ailment have taken their toll. George is still to recover fully from brain surgery he underwent to drain out fluid accumulation.
Though he is getting back into shape. This correspondent met him twice - once in the evening, and again at 11 pm. He slept late. A half-read novel rests in his hands and a dozen more to be read on his table.
For any comments, queries or feedback, kindly mail us at feedback@dailypioneer.com or pioneerletters@yahoo.co.in
George won't seek bail, demands JPC
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
In a room at 3, Krishna Menon Marg, two huge pictures of a young man in short trousers and horn-rimmed glasses decorate the walls. The man's hands are chained and he stands surrounded by cops. But the face looks defiant, and a half smile curls his lips.
That was George Fernandes in 1976, victim of Indira Gandhi's tyranny, accused in Vadodara dynamite case, a rabble rouser trade unionists, and died-in-wool socialist. Thirty years down the line, his hair have turned grey and eyes look confused. But the defiance remains the hallmark of the former Defence Minister, who stands accused of corruption in the acquisition of Barak missile from Israel.
"Indira Gandhi fought and lost... her daughter-in-law will meet the same fate," says George, accusing Congress president Sonia Gandhi of being the architect of the CBI case against him.
"The country knows what I stand for....people of the nation will fight my battle," he said in an exclusive interview.
For a man who is not unfamiliar to prisons, Fernandes is ready to go behind the bars again. "I won't even apply for bail. Let them come and arrest me," he said.
But, he demanded a probe by a joint parliamentary committee into all major defence deals of UPA Government. "I don't have any trust in the CBI. They are servants of the Government. A JPC probe could establish fears that middlemen and agents are not only clinching deals during the UPA Government, but also posing a threat to national security."
Fernandes said that the controversy surrounding the Scorpene submarine deal and War room leakage have common players. "I'm afraid the Government will never allow the truth to come out. Today, the country's most secret and strategic information are being sold out to enemies," he said.
Fernandes recalled that the Justice Phukan commission, which went into a spate of defence deals, including Barak, had given him a clean chit. "Let the Government deny that I was given clean chit by Justice Phukan," he said.
He said that the UPA Government wound up the Phukan inquiry commission before it could submit its final report because it wanted to implicate him by hook or by crook. "It is not an afterthought. Even when they wrapped up the Phukan commission, I told the media that I feared the worst."
Fernandes accused the Congress of subverting vitals organs of governance and misusing agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation to settle political scores. "It is sad. But I don't expect anything better from a party which imposed Emergency," he said.
Years and ailment have taken their toll. George is still to recover fully from brain surgery he underwent to drain out fluid accumulation.
Though he is getting back into shape. This correspondent met him twice - once in the evening, and again at 11 pm. He slept late. A half-read novel rests in his hands and a dozen more to be read on his table.
For any comments, queries or feedback, kindly mail us at feedback@dailypioneer.com or pioneerletters@yahoo.co.in