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Home , Pradip Krishen, Soli Sorabjee, Tehelka

Sabrang Elections 2004: FACTSHEETS

Scamnama: The unending saga of NDA’s scams – Armsgate, Coffinsgate, Customscam, Stockscam, Telecom, Pumpscam…

Scandalsheet 2: Armsgate () ______

‘Zero tolerance of corruption’. -- Prime Minister Vajpayee’s call to the nation On October 16, 1999. ______

March 13, 2001: · Tehelka.com breaks a story that stuns the nation and the world. Tehelka investigators had captured on spy camera the president of the BJP, , the Samata Party president, Jaya Jaitly (described as the ‘Second Defence Minister’ by one of the middlemen interviewed on videotape), and several top Defence Ministry officials accepting money, or showing willingness to accept money for defence deals.

· This they had managed to do through a sting operation named Operation West End, posing as representatives of a fictitious UK based arms manufacturing firm.

· Tehelka claims it paid out Rs. 10,80,000 in bribes to a cast of 34 characters.

· Among the shots forming part of the four-and-a-half hour documentary are those of Bangaru Laxman accepting one lakh and asking for the promised five lakhs in dollars! He did not deny accepting the money. Bangaru Laxman resigns as BJP president.

· Even before screening of the tapes at a press conference at a leading hotel here was over, the issue rocked both Houses of Parliament forcing their adjournment with the opposition demanding an immediate government statement on the issue.

· The Union government says it is prepared for an inquiry into the tehelka.com expose of the alleged involvement of top politicians and government officials in corrupt defence deals. At an emergency Union Cabinet meeting reportedly offers to resign but the offer is rejected by the Prime Minister.

1 March 14: · Jana Krishnamurthi appointed BJP’s acting president.

· The Congress says it would accept nothing less than the resignation of the BJP-led NDA government as “the future of the nation is not safe in the hands of a government which is so ridden with corruption that the security of the nation is jeopardised.” Jaipal Reddy: “Today the NDA government is a stinking symbol of sleaze, sleaze and sleaze.” Other Opposition parties join the resignation demand.

March 15: · Army appoints a court of inquiry.

· George Fernandes resigns from the Vajpayee Government.

· Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Ms. , quits the Ministry and withdraws her party's support to the National Democratic Alliance Government.

· Ms. Jaya Jaitly, steps down from the presidentship of the Samata Party.

· “The Tehelka expose only confirms and vindicates our initial findings”. -- N Vittal, Central Vigilance Commissioner.

· Editorial in (March 15): “The exposé only confirms the reports carried by The Asian Age for nearly two years now suggesting large-scale corruption in all matters related to defence”.

· Editorial in the pro-BJP Pioneer (March 15): “The BJP has, in one stroke, forfeited the right to call itself a ‘party with a difference’. Having campaigned consistently against corruption in high places for so many years, it will be impossible for the party to live down the shocking visual of its own president accepting wads of currency notes”.

· Editorial in the Times (March 15):The investigating agencies need to pick up and question R.K. Gupta, the man who claims to have built the RSS’ headquarters for free. Mr Gupta seems — judging by the Tehelka videotapes — to have so much clout that he says that he can over-rule top officials in the PMO because he collects money for the RSS and nobody dare dispute his authority. Mr Gupta’s boasts make a mockery of the RSS’ claims to be a clean organisation.

· Mathew Samuel, one of the two tehelka.com reporters behind Operation West End, says he is facing threat to life for taking on the bigwigs. Mathew said his wife too had been subjected to threats. An employee in a private firm, she was chased by men who threatened her with dire consequences. When such threats continued, her employer asked her to resign.

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March 16: GROUPS WITHIN the NDA and the BJP hammer out a quid pro quo solution to face the Tehelka videotape crisis. George Fernandes retains his position as the convenor of the NDA a day after he resigned as Defence Minister and his party dropps the demand for changes in the Prime Minister's Office.

March 17: · Govt announces the appointment of a one-man commission of inquiry, preferably headed by a sitting Supreme Court judge, to probe the Tehelka disclosures and submit its report in four months.

· The RSS issues a certificate of “truth” to the contents of the Tehelka tapes and asks the government to clean up the administration. Its stamp of sanctity on the revelations stands in sharp contrast to tales of conspiracy floated by the government.

· Vajpayee convenes a meeting of coalition partners who expressed “full faith” in George Fernandes and approve his “reappointment” as convener of the National Democratic Alliance. This is aimed at placating Fernandes as well as other ministers of the Samata Party who resigned after he quit as defence minister yesterday.

· Article in The Asian Age: One is happy to see that the same newspapers today are writing front page editorials asking for Georgie boy's resignation. Obviously even the worms have turned. It is the desh bhakhts who are selling the country out. It is the desh bhakts, who claim to represent the national interest, who have been selling our national security for any price.

· I have this gut feeling that while the army to take to task its tainted officers in the severest manner, civilians and politicians will go scot-free. -- Lt Gen Kandeth, who joined the BJP in 1991, March 17, 2001, Indian Express.

· Tehelka’s CEO claims at a press conference his team is being threatened by PMO officials.

March 18: · The External Affairs Minister, Mr. , has been appointed the country's new Defence Minister in place of Mr. George Fernandes who resigned on account of the tehelka.com “expose''.

· Article in The : “For the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), that took great pride in projecting itself as the party with a difference, the damage may be irreparable. The cadres of the party which took pride in describing it as the flag-bearer of patriotism and nationalism may now find it difficult to explain to their supporters why and how their president

3 Mr Bangaru Laxman took rupees one lakh from two correspondents posing as arms dealers”.

March 19: Editorial in : “The defence minister's house that has been reduced to a political boudoir… If a couple of amateur reporters could expose this, can you imagine what our favourite bogeymen from the ISI and the CIA could do?”

March 22: The Defence Ministry appoints a one- man fact-finding committee to probe the conduct of its officials whose names had figured in the Tehelka expose on arms deals. A court of inquiry is already conducting a formal probe in accordance with the Army Act.

Headed by RP Bagai, Joint Secretary and Chief Vigilance Officer of the Ministry, the probe committee has been directed by the new Defence Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, to complete the job and submit a report within a month.

The committee will look into the transactions relating to procurement of armaments, weapons systems and stores referred to in the Tehelka tapes and transcript in order to ascertain whether the prescribed procedure had been followed.

March 23: Editorial in The Hindustan Times: “Equally sad is the manner in which has skirted round the truth about Prasar Bharati's supposed autonomy when Sonia Gandhi wanted time on Doordarshan to respond to George Fernandes' 'clarifications'… After having first made the mistake of allowing the former defence minister present his case (against an exposé which the DD blacked out!), it is strange for a government to refuse to allow someone to make a reply”.

March 24: · The Central government appoints the K Venkataswami Commission to inquire into the Tehelka scam.

· AIADMK members burn effigies of George Fernandes and Bangaru Laxman in Bangalore in protest aganst the duo’s alleged involvement in the Tehelka exposed scam. (Source: )

March 26: A news report: A deeply aggrieved and emotionally charged Vajpayee at BJP national executive meet: Even if it was a trap, why did we walk into it. If the individual concerned had acted in a responsible manner and didn’t commit the wrong then I wouldn’t have heard what was unthinkable till the other day. The Opposition had shouted ‘chor, chor’ when I used to enter the House

4 in Parliament. The images that are being shown on TV would have long and lasting effect on public memory. The wound is too deep to be taken lightly.”

October 12: In a significant development, the K Venkataswami Commission declares the tehelka tapes on alleged corruption in defence deals to be genuine saying "no prima-facie case about doctoring has been made out at all." Rejecting a plea to send the tehelka tapes to experts, Justice K Venkataswami said: "It is inappropriate at this juncture to refer the unedited tapes in the custody of the commission to a panel of experts."

Taking exception to Government's stand, which had not asked for checking of veracity of tehelka tapes on its own but had pointed that since the matter was raised by other parties, the "clouds of doubt" should be removed, Justice Venkataswami said: "It is curious especially considering that it had proceeded with inquiries of the defence personnel and others based on these very tapes themselves".

November 28: Tehelka shareholder facing harassment, says Tejpal The Editor-in-Chief of the Tehelka portal, Mr. , today accused government agencies of intimidating and harassing Mr. Shankar Sharma of `First Global', which had invested 14.5 per cent stake in the portal.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Tejpal and Mr. Sharma said the Union Finance Ministry, through the Income Tax department, SEBI and the Enforcement Directorate, had for the last seven months launched a “draconian witch-hunt'' against `First Global' and trampled on the fundamental rights and liberties of Mr. Sharma and his family.

Despite having only 14.5 per cent equity in the Tehelka and no editorial interest, ‘First Global' had its business shut down, its properties in and attached, its travel barred in the most extra-constitutional manner possible. They said not a shred of evidence had been found against ‘First Global', its offices had been subjected to over 25 raids by the officers of the Income Tax, SEBI and the Enforcement Directorate and they had been served over 200 summons by these agencies.

January 13, 2002: The authenticity of the Tehelka tapes was the bone of contention again today with the portal's expert witness, Anand Patwardhan, claiming that the tapes submitted to the Venkataswami Commission were not tampered.

Deposing before the Commission, Mr. Patwardhan, a noted documentary filmmaker, rejected the evidence of a technical expert produced by the former BJP president, Bangaru Laxman, that the tapes had been doctored.

5 Mr. Patwardhan said that “the edited 4 1/2 hour version of the tapes does take liberties of using devices such as slow motion and dissolve, both perfectly acceptable when it comes to producing a programme that will be seen by a wider public''.

He added that the crux of the matter was that the original Hi-8 tapes submitted to the Commission, a copy of which was available from Tehelka, did not show any sign of tempering.

February 6, 2002 Witch-hunt against Tehelka alleged Tehelka.com, the news portal that exposed corruption in the defence establishment last year which shook the Vajpayee Government, today had two former Union Law Ministers - and - coming to its defence and condemning the Government for the “witch-hunt'' launched against the website.

Addressing a news conference here, Mr. Jethmalani and Mr. Bhushan, along with the Tehelka chief, Tarun Tejpal, criticised the Government for what they called was a ``mockery'' of proceedings before the Venkataswami Commission.

The legal luminaries condemned the Government for unleashing its investigating agencies on First Global and its owner, Shankar Sharma, which held 14.5 per cent share in Tehelka.com. In their opinion, the cases against First Global were “concocted'', “false'' and nothing short of a “frame-up.'' Mr. Bhushan attacked the Government on two counts.

First, he said that the sale of shares to financial institutions by First Global was strictly in accordance with rules and regulations and prior permission of the Reserve Bank of was not necessary under the existing FEMA provisions.

Secondly, allotment of shares by private placement was done at a fixed price and as per the guidelines of the SEBI it was totally permissible under “Delivery Versus Payment'' route. Mr. Jethmalani, who represents First Global before the Venkataswami Commission, took strong exception to the Government decision to keep Mr. Shankar Sharma away from the proceedings of the commission. Mr. Sharma was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on December 18 and is lodged in the Tihar Jail.

“This is a complete mockery of proceedings of the Venkataswami Commission. The Government has paralysed a good, honest and efficient judge,'' Mr. Jethmalani said.

February 25, 2002

6 The ball is in govt's court: Tehelka panel chief Initially set-up to finish its probe into allegation of corruption in defence deals within four months, the Venkataswami Commission, which has already got two extensions, may have to seek another if the government delays producing its evidence on the alleged "financial motives" behind the Tehelka expose.

"The government is yet to produce its evidence and witnesses on the financial aspects of the Tehelka expose. They have been maintaining that the investigation in the various facets of financial motives was taking a lot of time," Justice K Venkataswami told PTI.

"If the government does not proceed and finish early with the financial aspects then we may have to seek another extension otherwise as of now all other aspects can be covered by March 24, the day Commission's second extension expires," he said adding "now the ball is in the government's court."

July 7, 2002 · George Fernandes is back as Defence Minister. His reinduction creates a furore in political circles. Many observers question the propriety of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's decision, pointing out that little has changed in the circumstances under which Fernandes quit the Cabinet in March.

· Jaipal Reddy: "His reinstatement is without precedent. No tainted minister in Indian history has returned to the Union cabinet without being cleared. Fernandes announced in the wake of Tehelka that he would not return until he was cleared. What happened to that promise?"

· The Opposition inserts an unprecedented caveat in parliamentary proceedings: George Fernandes won't be allowed to speak on the floor of the House and will be boycotted until he is cleared of the charges.

July 14, 2002 The Persecution of Tehelka: (By Vir Sanghvi, HT) Only A.G. Noorani had the foresight to see that the commission’s terms of reference included something called Term D, which was unprecedented. According to Term D, the commission would look into “all aspects relating to the making and publication of these allegations.” As Noorani wrote (Hindustan Times, March 31, 2001), “never in the half- century of the Commission of Inquiry Act 1952” had anybody been asked to probe the credentials of those who made the charge. Presciently, he warned “if this move is allowed to pass muster, the press will effectively be muzzled. Anytime it publishes an exposé, the government will retaliate by setting up

7 inquiries not only into the truth of the charges, but also into the motives, finances and sources of the journal which publishes them.” To understand what Term D allows the government to do, take the example of any investigative story from history. When Arun Shourie published his famous Antulay exposé, Term D would have allowed the government to divert attention from the charges and focus on Shourie himself. Why had he written the articles? How much was his salary? Who were his friends? What were his sources? Or take Watergate, the most famous investigative story of all time. Under Term D, Woodward and Bernstein would have had to reveal who Deep Throat was, how they knew him, why he was squealing etc. The Washington Post would have had to explain why it hired Woodward and Bernstein, how much it paid them, whether it had any previous animus against Richard Nixon etc. This is the trap that Tarun and Tehelka now find themselves in. The commission has ruled that the videotapes are genuine but under Term D, it has to allow the government’s lawyers to go into “all aspects relating to the making and publication of the allegations”. So every sentence in over 100 hours of footage is scrutinised and has to be defended. Tehelka has had to hire 14 lawyers to defend itself. As many as seven Tehelka journalists have been assigned to the task of defending it before the commission and according to Tarun, Tehelka has spent 30,000 man hours on commission- related work.

August 09, 2002 More trouble for Tehelka (Editorial in ): A STRING OF ‘coincidences' assumes the form of a deliberate pattern. The reasons for believing that a vindictive Government is getting its own back at Tehelka… are becoming virtually indubitable… Tehelka's latest predicament is a case filed against a senior journalist of the website, Aniruddha Bahal, who has been charged with assaulting and threatening an official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A couple of facts are pertinent here. One, Mr. Bahal was the person who coordinated Operation Westend, which saw the (albeit temporary) exit of the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, resulted in the axing of Mr. Laxman and embarrassed the Vajpayee Government no end. And two, Mr. Bahal was arrested on a complaint from the CBI, which is already investigating two other cases in which Tehelka or those working for it are accused. Read along with the other kinds of trouble that Tehelka has found itself in, they give rise to grave suspicions about vendetta and intimidation. It was only a couple of months ago that the CBI raided Tehelka's premises in connection with an expose it was planning over the poaching of wild animals. A case was registered under the Wildlife Act and one of the website's reporters was arrested and remanded. Earlier, a story run by the website which relied on sensitive Government documents resulted in a case being filed against it under the Official Secrets Act.

This is not all. An investment banker who bought a minority stake in the news portal was arrested and subjected to a slew of Income Tax and

8 Enforcement Directorate raids. Tehelka had claimed then that this was a ploy to put a financial squeeze on the website. In other words, to send a signal to other possible investors that putting money into Tehelka could entail unforeseen and damaging consequences. The website, which has received no additional funds since then, is in serious financial trouble now.

… (T)he Government has … shown a shocking lack of concern for the corruption and the venality exposed by Operation Westend. Rather than seriously address what was uncovered, it has scrambled to look for conspiracies behind the investigation ("ISI-sponsored" etc). It set up a Commission of Inquiry but reinstated Mr. Fernandes as Defence Minister even as it was beginning to conduct the probe. Even Mr. Laxman didn't end up too badly, having been partially rehabilitated with the chairmanship of a parliamentary committee.

At the same time, the fact that Tehelka continues to have problems, which the Government explains as routine and unconnected administrative action, has raised questions about persecution and harassment and, more generally, about the Government's commitment to the freedom of the press. Two months ago, a correspondent of Time magazine, Alex Perry, was suddenly summoned to explain some facts in connection with his passport soon after he had published a very unflattering piece about the Prime Minister. Using the official machinery to browbeat journalists is unacceptable in a democracy and if the Government thinks it is an effective way of either silencing or compromising them, it is sadly mistaken. Criticism of the Government is hardly likely to diminish by placing a website into difficulty here or harassing the correspondent of a publication there. The Vajpayee Government would do well to focus on governance rather than blame the ills of the nation on journalists or the bad press it receives.

November 2002: Attempt to delay Venkataswami Commission Filmmaker Milin Kapoor’s recent claim that the Tehelka tapes had been doctored seems to be a well-orchestrated attempt to confuse the issue so much that it heads straight for the proverbial attic. Last month, the commission had passed an order that the tapes are genuine after Mr Kapoor had already raised the issue of tampering.

Despite his case being thrown out of the window, the filmmaker has voiced the same doubts once again… Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitly, one of those tainted by the Tehelka exposé, has suddenly demanded an ‘accurate transcript’ of the 100 hours of tape — something that she had not thought of all this while.

On another front, George Fernandes is back as the defence minister — a post that he had publicly stated he would not reclaim until his name was cleared in the Defencegate scandal. Bangaru Laxman — the owner of India’s most visible pair of greasy hands — has been appointed as the chairman of the

9 House committee of Parliament, persuading Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Nirupam to resign from the committee in protest.

November 24, 2002 Venkataswami quits Tehelka probe panel Stung by criticism in Parliament over his appointment as Chairman of the Authority on Advance Rulings of Excise and Customs, Justice K. Venkataswami, head of the Tehelka Commission, today resigned from both the posts. He is understood to have sent his resignation to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Justice Venkataswami declined comment when asked for the reasons for putting in his papers. His resignation at the crucial stage of hearing in the Tehelka probe has taken legal circles by surprise. Though he was appointed chairman of the Authority on Excise and Customs in May this year, the issue surfaced in Parliament only on Friday when members criticised the Government for violating all norms of constitutional propriety in offering a second post to him when the Tehelka enquiry was yet to be completed.

According to sources, Justice Venkataswami was unhappy with the handling of the issue by the Government, which, he felt, did not defend his appointment properly though everything had been done in accordance with law and as per the recommendations of the Chief Justice of India.

The examination of crucial witnesses, including the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, the former BJP president, Bangaru Laxman, the former Samata Party president, Jaya Jaitly, and other Section 8-B witnesses has been completed.

With the probe nearing a critical stage of investigation, Justice Venkataswami's resignation has put a question mark on the fate of the Commission, which was intended to arrive at the truth in the portal's "revelations."

January 5, 2003: Phukan Commission appointed The Government has appointed Justice S.N. Phukan, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court, as the new chief of the Tehelka enquiry commission. He succeeds Justice K. Venkataswami, who resigned on November 23 last year. Mr. Phukan, who retired last April, hails from Assam and now heads the State Human Rights Commission.

He will take charge of his new assignment later this month. The probe expose is now in a crucial stage, with the "draft'' report concerning the past defence transactions almost ready and an enquiry into the financial transactions of Tehelka portal yet to be taken up. The Commission had examined 50 witnesses and passed 720 interim orders, recorded 961 pages

10 of depositions regarding 15 past defence transactions and 3,114 pages in respect of deposition of other witnesses.

It is not clear whether the new incumbent would begin a fresh enquiry or continue from where Mr. Venkataswami had left.

January 13, 2003 Tehelka reporter released on bail Tehelka reporter Kumar Badal's release on bail on court orders after six months in custody raises questions about the CBI's ways and the government's attitudes. Badal, who was in CBI custody since June last year, was released on bail on January 13. The Supreme Court, which came to his rescue, pulled up the CBI for keeping him in judicial custody for six months on the pretext of investigating Badal's involvement in a poaching case. A shaken Badal, who lost 18 kg during his incarceration, said after his release: "I was tortured both physically and mentally. Had it not been for the strong conviction in journalism and had it been just a job for me, I would not have been able to withstand the trauma."

March 1, 2003: Phukan panel refuses to record evidence all over again (Press Trust Of India) , February 28: The Phukan Commission of inquiry probing the Tehelka expose today decided not to record evidence afresh even as it refused to put on record Tehelka’s paper on withdrawing from future proceedings after Attorney Soli Sorabjee took strong exception to the ‘‘language’’ used in the document.

After hearing the arguments of Sorabjee and the other counsel, the Commission decided to continue the proceedings from the point left by Justice K. Venkataswami, Phukan said. He gave four weeks’ time to the Commission counsel to go through the evidence recorded so far.

Phukan admitted Tehelka’s plea for withdrawal from the panel’s future proceedings due to ‘‘various constraints’’ but rejected its request for taking the document on record after Sorabjee took strong exception to the language used in it. ‘‘Ask them to put this (paper) in the form of an affidavit as the language used in it is very offending,’’ Sorabjee said.

May 10, 2003 Forensic tests on Tehelka videos The Phukan Commission orders forensic examination of videotapes that contain ‘evidence’ of corruption in the deals. Panel chairman Justice S.N. Phukan said the tapes “might be tampered” or they may not be the “camera originals”.

Significantly, chairman of the commission investigating the case earlier, Justice K. Venkataswami, had twice rejected Samata Party leader Jaya

11 Jaitley's plea on the grounds that there was no prima-facie case for a forensic examination. On Friday, the panel accepted Jaitley's plea, and said it had “serious doubts the tapes ... ‘ultimate arbiters’ ... may have been tampered with.”

Cong slams Phukan commission probe (Pioneer News Service/New Delhi) The Congress criticises the way the Tehelka commission was functioning under Justice S N Phukan after the commission decided to send the Tehelka tapes for forensic examination to London. Congress spokesperson Jaipal Reddy: "We are quite puzzled by the way the commission is conducting itself." He wanted to know how Justice Phukan had reversed the decision taken by Justice Venkatsawmy who declared the tapes were genuine. "We are not being told through a detailed order why these tapes should be subjected to examination by a foreign expert," he said.

The Congress spokesperson wondered if the commission's decision was influenced by the change in the Government's stance. Mr Reddy also objected to the Government, which, he said, was the prime accused in the case, being asked to facilitate the examination of the tapes by a foreign expert. He asked how could anybody be sure that the tapes will not be tempered with in the process of transmission. Mr Reddy also objected to the identity of the foreign expert being kept a secret.

June 20, 2003 Tehelka tapes for the U.K. THE 16 sealed Tehelka tapes containing allegations of corruption in defence deals have been sent to the United Kingdom for forensic examination…

The decision to send the controversial tapes to forensic experts in the U.K. was taken by the Justice S.N. Phukan Commission on May 28. The tapes were sent in sealed packets with notes indicating the portions that have allegedly been tampered with. Keeping the security of the tapes in mind, the Commission refused to identify the experts to whom they were sent.

The Justice K. Venkataswami Commission, which has been replaced by the Phukan Commission, had gone into the question of the veracity of the tapes and found "no prima facie case about doctoring etc". The Commission said that none of the accused had questioned their presence on the tapes; their charges were related mainly to the addition and deletion of certain words.

The Venkataswami Commission had come to these conclusions after video and audio experts - Milin Kapoor and Arun Mehta, representing Jaya Jaitly, and Umashankar and , representing Tehelka - made multiple presentations before the Commission on the section that had allegedly been tampered with.

12 Milin Kapoor and Arun Mehta demonstrated how words had been interpolated or deleted, and videos spliced, and pointed out gaps where the video was not backed by audio in the tapes. Counsel for Tehelka had argued that the mere possibility of tampering with the tapes did not, by itself, constitute a case for questioning their veracity. Also, no motive has been made out or even suggested. After hearing both sides - Tehelka and defence's experts - the Venkataswami Commission ordered that there was no reason to send the tapes to outside experts. (Frontline).

February 5, 2004 George cleared The Justice Phukan Commission, probing the Tehelka 'revelations', has exonerated Defence Minister George Fernandes of charges of impropriety. The submission of the first part of the commission's report came at a politically significant time - just two days ahead of the dissolution of the 13th Lok Sabha and could provide the right electoral fodder to the ruling coalition in the run-up to the coming parliamentary elections.

After submitting an interim report to Prime Minister on Thursday, Justice S N Phukan said: "No instance of impropriety on part of the Defence Minister was found." Justice Phukan was not willing to say anything beyond that.

The 641-page report has made its observations on 15 past Defence deals including those on Sukhois, the AJT, the T-90 tanks and the Barak missiles - references to which came in the Tehelka tapes - after examining 507 secret and top secret files.

"The files are alright and above board. In my second report, I will deal with the allegations made in the Tehelka tapes, on whether Mr Fernandes's reputation had been tarnished and also if there was any nexus between service personnel, middlemen and politicians in the Defence deals," he said.

Shortly after the presentation of the report, Opposition leaders attacked the commission saying its reported findings giving a clean chit to Mr Fernandes are a "scandal by themselves".

Tehelka expose: Oppn flays panel’s clean chit to George Opposition parties question the panel’s timing in submitting its report before elections. It was also faulted for not waiting for feedback from the forensic firm which is examining the tapes to determine if they were doctored. Fernandes is a great sinner. Vajpayee is a bigger sinner because he has brought the sinner back to the Cabinet,” said Congress spokesman Jaipal Reddy, adding that from the beginning the Opposition did not have confidence in Justice Phukan. Justice Venkataswami was chosen by the Supreme Court, but Justice Phukan was chosen by the Government. “There was manipulation in the selection of the judge itself and nothing much was expected from him,” said Mr Reddy.

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The report was submitted at a time when the Commission was awaiting the result of a foreign forensic firm which was examining whether the tapes were doctored or not. The identity of the firm was not known to anybody, except Mr Fernandes and the Goverment of India, Mr Reddy said. ENDS

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