Scorpene 'middleman' turns tables

      New Delhi: The alleged middleman of the multi-billion rupees Scorpene deal, Abhishek Verma today finally broke silence on the controversy surrounding him and said that BJP leader LK Advani is falsely implicating him at the behest of an international arms dealer. "I have nothing to do with the Scorpene submarine deal. LK Advani is trying to drag me into controversy", he said today to NDTV for the first time after the alleged corruption scandal captured the headlines. Verma, a Delhi-based businessman turned guns on Advani, alleging that Suresh Nanda, a well-known international arms dealer, after failing to acquire the submarine deal for the German company HDW, is now using Advani to get the Scorpene deal cancelled as he also funds the BJP. Verma also said that Suresh Nanda who owns Marlock company is a partner of Germany submarine makers HDW that too had bid for the submarine deal.

    Rubbishing all the allegations levelled on him by the Outlook news magazine Verma said: "This is an allegation of a fertile twisted mind and that now he is suing the news magazine. He said that he was also suing Advani and former defence ministers of NDA, George Fernandes and Jaswant Singh for labelling him as the middlemen in one of India's biggest ever arms deal contract. "I even wrote a letter to Advani and Fernandes asking him to hear his side of the story too before making discriminatory remarks against me," Verma added. Denying any links with Congress party Verma said that he respected Congress party but has no association with them and added that the BJP just wanted to raise this issue for furthering their own interests in the elections. Meanwhile, BJP President Rajnath Singh have dismissed Verma's allegation and said: "Whenever such baseless allegations have been made against Advani, he has given a befitting reply." On Monday Advani in a press conference had call for an enquiry into the deal and immediate termination of the deal. The rupees 18000 crores deal signed with the French company Thales would help India in acquiring six submarines. But deal signed last October soon ran into controversy after Outlook magazine reported that Verma acted as the middlemen in the deal and received four percent of the deal amount as kickback. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee dismissing any form of irregularities had said that the deal had a unique integrity clause for the first time in a defence contract and as per the clause; the deal could be scrapped any time if there is an involvement of the middlemen.

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