Government divided over cancelling Finmeccanica copter deal

The government is divided on whether or not to cancel the AgustaWestland helicopter deal in the wake of the bribery allegations against former Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi.

According to CNN-IBN sources, the Prime Minister's Office is unhappy with the proposal to cancel the deal. On the other hand, defence minister A K Antony is inclined to cancel the deal.

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid said late last week that the show cause notice is just the first step, and indicated the government may not go all the way. "Whether we are planning to cancel or not, I don't know. There is a provision for cancelling. I think the government is entitled to give a show cause notice, and we have given a show cause notice. But any further steps that are taken should be taken keeping in mind both our entitlement as far as the contracts are concerned and the implications for ourselves," Khurshid said.

Meanwhile a joint probe team comprising a senior investigating officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a law officer, along with officials of ministry of defence, is likely to leave for Italy on Tuesday to probe the allegations of kickbacks in the Rs3,760 crore deal for 12 AgustaWestland helicopters choppers signed with Italian contractor Finmeccanica.

The team was expected to leave on Sunday, but has got delayed for unexplained reasons.

Officials said the team would meet Italian prosecutors to ascertain the details of the case.