Silence of the Signora ----- By Sandhya Jain

march 22nd, 2007

as i mentioned, the q story has been swept under the carpet. yet again.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Yash

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=175&page=9

Silence of the Signora
By Sandhya Jain

 

Imagine Mr. Quattrocchi in Tihar Jail telling journalists that he expected his old friends and countrymen to visit him in jail! I imagine therefore that the return of Mr. Quattrocchi will remain in the realm of wishful thinking.

True to type, Congress president Ms. Sonia Gandhi avoided responsibility for the party's inadequate performance in the Assembly elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand, and even Manipur, where it is leading a motley coalition. That the party performed so poorly even after the UPA government manfully concealed information about the arrest of Bofors kickbacks accused Ottavio Quattrocchi in Argentina on February 6 only highlights the awareness of the impact this could have on an already declining party, and Ms. Gandhi's absolute reluctance to take the rap for her own sins of omission and commission.

That is why, when she addressed the Congress Parliamentary Party nearly ten days after the news of the arrest broke out, Ms. Sonia Gandhi carefully avoided mentioning Mr. Quattrocchi and the parliamentary hiatus caused by news of his arrest and release on bail, and India's slow-moving efforts to have him extradited. To mention a fellow countryman would mean having to explain a long personal association which brought rich dividends to him and his employers over many decades, and opening herself to questions about similar unknown associations.


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