Amitabh Interview Bofors Scandal part 1

Bachchan's fortunes only revived in 1990 when his brother Ajitabh won a libel case against a Swedish newspaper, which had alleged that the Bachchans were involved in the Bofors scandal. The victory was treated as a vindication of Bachchan's innocence and the reaction was immediate. Aaj Ka Arjun, a truly dreadful film, went on to become Bachchan's first big hit in years only because his fans now felt that his innocence had been proved. There are some lessons from the Bachchan saga. The first is that hit stars don't necessarily make hit politicians. And when things go wrong for them politically, their film careers falter too.
Indian investigators have filed the first
criminal charges in a corruption-and-bribery scandal
involving an arms purchase deal that shook India's
political establishment more than a decade ago.
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has been named
among the suspects. From New Delhi, Anjana Pasricha
reports.

TEXT: The Central Bureau of Investigation has charged
a senior Indian civil servant, [S.K Bhatnagar], an
Indian arms agent [Win Chadha] and an Italian
businessman [Ottavio Quattrocchi] with accepting
bribes from the Swedish arms company Bofors, which
signed a contract to sell artillery guns to India in
1986. A Swedish executive [Martin Ardbo] who headed
the Bofors company at that time is also being
prosecuted in the kickback scandal.

Rajiv Gandhi, the former prime minister who was
assassinated eight years ago, also is named in the
charges.

The scandal erupted in 1987 when Swedish radio
reported the Bofors firm had paid more than 50-million
dollars in bribes to secure a contract for a one-
point-four-billion-dollar sale of field guns to the
Indian army, against stiff international competition.

The bribes were paid into secret Swiss bank accounts.
Indian authorities obtained documents relating to the
accounts after a seven-year legal battle with Swiss
authorities.

The scandal created a political uproar in India, and
Bofors became a symbol of political corruption. It
tarnished the image of Rajiv Gandhi, leading to his
party's defeat in the 1989 general elections, two
years before his assassination.

Investigations into the Bofors case have been slow,
and the center of much political controversy.
Governments led or supported by the Congress Party
have been accused of trying to bury the case. Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's government speeded up
investigations into the case.

The case could become a fresh political liability for
Italian-born opposition leader Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv
Gandhi's widow. Not only was her late husband named
in the charges, but the Italian businessman accused of
bribery is also a close friend of the Gandhi family.
He left India soon after the scandal erupted. Indian
media have speculated that Mrs. Gandhi entered
politics to block prosecutors in the Bofors case.

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[rahulpandit4]

Rajiv Gandoo was close friend of Amitabh so he feels its his duty to cover his crimes.

[kuwupu]

i would like to know this from amitabh bachchan if you feel this much harsh and let the Indian pride down by our government Why have not seen a single movie of your hand which talks about national pride huh? why cant you finance one own movie by yourself, im sure you can do it. this called pure actor where he does nothing but acting for himself and make money. stop rubbishing Indian government over your private issues. Jai Hind.

[usherban]

You nailed it Amitabh. You are great.

[00hardev]

I wanted to kill indira kutty than aaaaaaaaaai wanted to kill kutta rajeev but mu soul my friends killed them now i amitabh who is guilty of 84 sikh riots will bi killed. he forgets that he is son of sikh nother

[Rohit84up]

Oh well he is rich and well contected so he would never gonna get in trouble no matter how hard people try to bring proof and evidences.

[kuwupu]

sorry i am pride Indian and respect your acting and what not. But at end of day I still see as actor who acts on stage for money.,Not for a country, but for yourself get it that right. So please do not try to act as your harms and humbled by Indian pride being down If you love your country try to help those poor who needs and try to motivate people of India in right direction, you have such a big tool but apparently you big guys never thought of yourself shame on you as big bollywood B. peace.

[Don786k]

thnx 4 uploading this it's really rare