Privilege notice against MoD

New Delhi, April 29

The Congress today submitted a breach of privilege notice against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for a statement on the AgustaWestland deal it put out while Parliament is in session.

RS members Shantaram Naik and Hussain Dalwai submitted the notice to the secretariat today claiming that the ministry statement was in violation of the rules of the House. The statement should have been made in Parliament, they said. Sources privy to the development said the members contended that publishing of a clarification through a government website constitutes a breach of privilege of the House and that of the members.

The ministry said the Italian firm was not blacklisted during the Congress regime, rather all defence procurements from AgustaWestland were put on hold by the NDA government. On Wednesday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he would respond after 7-8 days as he had to peruse papers as regards the case. — TNS