Tender apology to Sonia Gandhi: AK Antony tells PM Modi

Kottayam (Kerala): Stepping up attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior Congress leader AK Antony on Tuesday said he should tender an apology to Congress President Sonia Gandhi for levelling “baseless allegations” against her in connection with the AgustaWestland deal. “If good sense prevails on him he should tender an apology to Sonia Gandhi. Making such allegations is not suitable for a person holding such a position,” Antony told a meet-the-press programme in Kottayam. He, however, said he was not expecting an apology from the Prime Minister. [caption id=“attachment_2775256” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress leader AK Anthony. AFP[/caption] “Modi did not speak like a Prime Minister. He spoke like an RSS pracharak. Instead of making such boasts in a public platform, he should have given a reply in Parliament. But he was seen fleeing from Parliament,” the former Defence Minister said, reacting to the Prime Minister’s attack on Congress and its leadership over the controversial VVIP chopper deal. On the campaign trail in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Modi had repeatedly raked up the VVIP helicopter scam. “Madam Soniaji, ‘Aap ki Yae himmat (how dare you).’ You and Congress leaders are making statements that false allegations are being made against you. Did Modi or Modi government in the last two years even once take the name of Congress in the helicopter deal?” Modi had asked, addressing an election rally in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday night. The Prime Minister had said the Congress president’s name has been dragged into the deal not by him or anybody in his government but by a court in Italy. Refuting the charges, Antony said that Italian court has not named anyone in the AgustaWestland case. He said that AgustaWestland came into the picture in 2003 after then National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra played a lead role in reducing the operational requirements for the VVIP chopper. Antony alleged that Modi was trying to weaken Sonia Gandhi and her family hoping that it would help destroy the Congress party. “Modi is a better actor than Amitabh Bachchan,” he said.