NEW DELHI, 12 March 2007 — Barely a day after sending jitters in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) camp by revealing that former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee asked him “not to touch the Bofors file”, former Defense Minister George Fernandes made an about turn yesterday morning. Downplaying the controversy, Fernandes denied issuing any statement against Vajpayee and said that the NDA government never interfered in the Bofors probe.
Vajpayee was “joking” when he asked him not to touch the Bofors file. “I have been misquoted in my interview. You all know Vajpayeeji’s jovial nature. He did tell me not to touch the Bofors file, but he said it jokingly and never meant to interfere in the probe” said NDA convener.
Fernandes also denied that Vajpayee or senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani ever tried to interfere in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Bofors scandal.
However, he said that during the Kargil war, discussions were held on whether the Bofors guns should be used or the government should ask for the return of the money.
