Raman Singh hails SC's dismissal of PIL to probe Chhattisgarh's AgutaWestland deal, says plea was 'politically motivated'

Raipur: Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh on Tuesday hailed the dismissal of a petition  seeking probe into alleged irregularities in the purchase of an AgustaWestland helicopter by his government. “The Supreme Court’s decision made it clear that no irregularities were committed in the chopper deal. The petition was politically motivated,” Singh told reporters. He claimed that the committee formed (in 2007) for the purchase of a chopper for VIP use comprised principal secretary of finance department, secretary of aviation and principal secretary to the chief minister, and it carried out the tendering process in a transparent manner. “On the auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri, the court’s decision has proved that truth can never be defeated and it was a victory of truth,” the chief minister said. [caption id=“attachment_3962779” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh. PTI[/caption] Opposition Congress doesn’t have issues which it can raise in the Assembly, and after facing defeat thrice in “people’s court” (in Assembly elections) it tried to mislead people by raising this issue in the court, Singh said. Congress, on the other hand, said chief minister Singh is yet to answer several questions related to the deal. “As per my information, the Supreme Court has said the complaint pertaining to irregularity in the purchase of the chopper can be lodged at any appropriate forum,” state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel said. “The chief minister is yet to answer several questions related to the alleged scam including an alleged foreign account in the name of `Abhishak Singh’,” Baghel said. A bench of justices AK Goel and UU Lalit of the apex court on Tuesday dismissed a petition by the NGO Swaraj Abhiyan and others seeking probe into the purchase of the helicopter. “We do not find any grounds to accept the prayer for probe. The petition is dismissed,” the bench said. The petitioners had alleged that in July 2008, a bank account in the name of ‘Abhishak Singh’ was opened in the British Virgin Islands, and on 1 August, 2008, one of the firms purportedly involved in the deal wound up operations. There was a “strong possibility” that money paid as commission in the deal ultimately reached the bank account, they alleged.