Chennai: AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa accused the Centre for keeping Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi's arrest a secret from the public. She said on Saturday that immediate steps should be taken to extradite the Bofors case accused to India.
"The government of Argentina had arrested him 18 days ago. But the Congress-led UPA government had not informed the general public about this," she said in a statement.
After the sensational information of Quattrocchi's arrest that took place in Argentina earlier this month, was telecast by television channels across India, the CBI was left with no other alternative except to admit the arrest by means of a very belated statement last night, she claimed.
"Right from the beginning when Bofors scandal came to limelight, Congress-led governments at the Centre were keen on helping Quattrocchi escape from the law," she said. Jayalalithaa said that in Argentina, a person wanted by another nation could be kept in custody only for 30 days.
"Knowingly, deliberately, time is being lost. After the arrest on February 6, now about 10 days are left for bringing Quattrocchi to India," she said, adding neither the Centre nor the CBI has "lifted a finger or moved an inch" to make a formal extradition request to Argentina.
"If the government allows Quattrocchi to go free by letting time run out, the Congress party will soon discover that the time will be running out for it too," she said.
Prime Minister, Home Minister, External Affairs Minister and Law Minister are responsible to the nation with regard to Quattrocchi's extradition and they should "act without fear or favour" in this issue, she said.
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