New Delhi, May 26 (Inditop): To tackle corruption in defence deals and to bring transparency in defence procurements, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wedneday said the government will not hesitate to cancel contracts “if there is malpractice” in procurements.
Antony addressing a seminar told the army officers and industry representatives that the government would not tolerate “wheeling dealing or corruption”.
“We are determined that we need procurements, (but) we cannot compromise on transparency. At times, we have found certain manipulations, malpractices; we cannot ignore that so we ruthlessly cancelled certain major ticket items. In the future also if there are any malpractices we will not be lenient, we will take the harsh lane,” said Antony.
At least two defence deals were calncelled by the government during Antony’s previous tenure as Defence Minister, including the Eurocopter light utility helicopter deal owing to some malpractices.
Signifying the government’s assurance in rooting out corruption and to give a strong warning to private contractors, Antony added, ” They should not try to bribe our people. We will not be lenient. We will take strong action”.
