The Congress on Wednesday alleged a "witch-hunt without any proof" on the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam after the government dragged in the name of its party president Sonia Gandhi.
The party also alleged there was a deal between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi to implicate Sonia in the case in which officials of AgustaWestland's parent company Finmeccanica were convicted by an Italian court of giving bribes to Indians.
Senior Congress leader and Sonia Gandhi's political advisor Ahmed Patel told CNN-News18 the allegations were baseless and challenged Bharatiya Janata Party leaders like Subramanian Swamy to come out with evidence if they have any.
Patel, whose name as also come up because of the initials 'AP'mentioned in a note by middleman James Christian Michel, said he never met or talked to Agusta officials.
Other Congress leaders, and middleman Michel, indicated that PM Modi struck a deal with PM Renzi at the UNGA in September and offered to free two Italian marines, facing murder charges in India, in exchange of evidence linking Sonia to the Rs 3600 crore deal.
Later, the External Affairs Ministry clarified that there was no such meeting.
In the morning, the Congress president dared the BJP saying, "I have nothing to hide. Let them take my name...where are the proofs. They are lying. They are part of a strategy of character assassination which we have known these people indulge in."
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy took Congress president Sonia Gandhi's name during a discussion but after a huge uproar and protest by Congress MPs, his remarks were expunged from the records.
Outside, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar claimed that the Gandhi family is involved in the 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," he said.
Government sources said AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica will soon be blacklisted, while former Defence Minister AK Antony pointed out that they were already blacklisted during UPA rule.
"All that is happening is game of sensationalism and the truth is suffering," said Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. "Barring one reference, there has been no mention of Sonia and Manmohan Singh".
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