New Delhi: The Centre is preparing to blacklist AgustaWestland and its parent company Finmeccania after an Italian court convicted the company's top officials in the VVIP chopper deal, top sources in the government said Wednesday.
The BJP-led NDA government had already, on July 3, 2014, put AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica on suspension list, barring them from going for any defence order.
The sources also rejected former defence minister AK Antony's claim that the UPA had acted on the AgustaWestland deal, pointing out that the previous Congress-led government did not blacklist Finmeccanica.
The VVIP chopper scam paralysed the functioning of Parliament through the day, with treasury and opposition benches trading charges.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy took Congress president Sonia Gandhi's name during a discussion, and after a huge uproar and protest by Congress MPs, his remarks were expunged from the records.
Outside Parliament, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar claimed that the Gandhi family is involved in the AgustaWestland chopper scam. "It is clear that Gandhi family is involved in AgustaWestland deal. Truth should come out. It involved so many VIPs, let me put it before Parliament first," the Defence Minister said.
Sonia was quick to reject all the charges saying, "I have nothing to hide. Let them take my name."
The UPA government had signed a deal with AgustaWestland for purchase of 12 helicopters to ferry VVIPs, but it was scrapped after reports appeared in Italy that the firm had paid kickbacks to Indian officials to clinch the deal.
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