Under Modi, ED has become 'embarrassing disaster,' says Congress

Terming the Enforcement Directorate an "embarrassing disaster" under the current dispensation, the Congress Sunday said it is fully committed to probing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government's "collusion" with AgustaWestland if it comes to power in 2019.

The party said that after the BJP came to power at the Centre, the Defence Ministry lifted the ban on AgustaWestland imposed during the UPA rule and even allowed it to bid for 100 naval utility helicopters.

"The ED may save the Modi government today, but when it is voted out of power in 2019, we are committed to fully investigate PM Modi and his government's collusion with AgustaWestland," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters.

He added, "Under Modi, the ED has become an embarrassing disaster."

The attack came a day after the probe agency, investigating the AgustaWestland case, told a court that accused middleman Christian Michel has made a reference to "Mrs Gandhi".

Surjewala alleged that the government was pressuring Michel to make a "false" statement against the Gandhi family and dared it to place in the public domain any such evidence it has against the Congress leadership.

He accused the government of trying to hide its own "collusion" in AgustaWestland case by creating a lot of noise."They are using Christian Michel as a sounding board to defend its own wrong doings and misdeeds. Panicking and running scared, PM Modi and his government are now raking up controversies to hide its own government's connivance," he said.

"It is now clear that the 'chowkidaar is daagdaar' (the watchman is tainted)," he alleged.

Surjewala also posed a set of six questions to the government and asked why the Defence Ministry ended the ban on AgustaWestland in July 2014 and made the company a part of the 'Make in India' programme.