Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a vitriolic attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying his father and former PM Rajiv Gandhi died as “Bhrastachari No. 1 (Corrupt No. 1),” Governor SP Malik said on Thursday that Rajiv was “not corrupt but under the influence of some people he got involved in the Bofors graft case.”
He was reacting to an audio clip, released by rebel BJPleader Ajay Agarwal, in which Malik is purportedly saying that Rajiv was notcorrupt or greedy.
“Initially, he (Rajiv Gandhi) was not corrupt but laterunder the influence of some people, who I will not name, he got involved in thecase,” he told reporters at a function here.
Malik said he and PDP founder Mufti Muhammad Sayeed quit theRajya Sabha in the wake of the Bofors corruption case and formed the JanMorcha.
“All this means that we accepted that Rajiv Gandhi wasinvolved in the Bofors scandal. Initially, he was good but then he came underinfluence of people and ultimately he was responsible for Bofors (scam).”
Malik defended BJP targeting Rajiv Gandhi by saying thatMahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru’s names have also been mentioned duringpoll campaigns.
“When Rajiv’s son calls you chor (thief), won’t you tell himwho he is and what his legacy is?” he added.
Earlier this week at a rally, Modi targeted CongressPresident Rahul Gandhi and said, “Your father was termed ‘Mr Clean’ by hiscourtiers, but his life ended as ‘bhrashtachari No. 1’ (corrupt No. 1).”