Wednesday, March 22 2006 14:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Opposition NDA today(Mar 22,2006) mounted a fresh offensive against the UPA Government over the alleged kickbacks in the Scorpene deal demanding a comprehensive probe and termination of the contract but conceded the submarine system was 'good'.

"I had always maintained that Bofors is a very good gun but the procurement method was wrong. Similarly, the Scorpene is a very good system. We are not questioning the quality of the weapon but the methodology of procurement," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh told reporters here.

Expressing disappointment over Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement in Lok Sabha on the deal yesterday, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha L K Advani alleged the agreement has been violated by the French supplier as a 'middleman, said to be working on behalf of Congress party,received a huge amount'.

"Therefore, the middleman be arrested immediately, the scorpene deal be scrapped and a comprehensive and credible inquiry be instituted to fix political responsibility and to ascertain the facts relating to the scandal," he said.

Giving a point-by-point rebuttal of Mukherjee's statement, Singh, who was flanked by NDA Convener George Fernandes, said, "Exposes of the Scorpene scandal reveal continuing governmental obfuscation, aimed at diverting the nation's attention from a high-level cover-up operation".

Rejecting Opposition charges of middlemen and kickbacks in the Scorpene submarine deal, Mukherjee had said Government brought down the costs by Rs 313 crore and signed 'integrity'pacts to ensure transparency.