Such has been the patronage from the beginning extended to Sonia Gandhi and her Italian family from the Soviets. When a Prime Minister of India’s son dates a girl in London, the KGB which valued Indo-Soviet relations, would naturally investigate her. They had, and found out that she was the daughter of Stefano, their old reliable Italian contact. Thus, Sonia married to Rajiv, meant deep access for the Soviets, into the household of the Indian Prime Minister. Hence cementing the Rajiv-Sonia relations was in the Soviet national interest and they went to work on it. And they did, through their moles in the Indira Gandhi camp.
After her marriage to Rajiv, the Soviet connection with the Mainos was fortified and nurtured by generous financial help through commissions and kick-backs on every Indo—Soviet trade deal and defence purchases. According to the respected Swiss magazine, Schweitzer Illustrate [November 1991 issue; see Annexure-10] Rajiv Gandhi had about $2 billion in numbered Swiss bank accounts—which Sonia inherited upon his assassination.
Dr. Yevgenia Albats, Ph.D[Harvard], is a noted Russian scholar and journalist, and was a member of the KGB Commission set up by President Yeltsin in August 1991. She was privy to the Soviet intelligence files that documented these deals and KGB facilitation of the same. In her book—“The State Within a State: The KGB in the Soviet Union”, she even gives the reference numbers of such intelligence files which can now be accessed by any Indian government through a formal request to the Kremlin.
The Russian Government in 1992 was confronted with the Albats’ disclosure by the media. The official spokesperson of the government confirmed the veracity of the disclosure [which was published in Hindu in 1992]. The spokesperson defended such financial payments as necessary in “Soviet ideological interest”. Part of the funds were used by the Maino family to fund loyal Congress party candidates in the General Elections.
When the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, things changed for Ms. Sonia Gandhi. Her patron nation had been disbanded into 16 countries. The rump that became Russia was in a financial mess and disorder. So, Ms. Sonia Gandhi switched and became a supporter of another communist country much to the annoyance of the Russians.
The national security ramification of this ‘annoyance’ is now significant: The President of Russia today is Putin, a former dyed-in-the-wool KGB officer. Upon Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government taking office, Russia called back it’s career diplomat Ambassador in New Delhi and immediately posted in his place, as the new Ambassador, a person who was the KGB station chief in New Delhi during the 1970s.
In view of Dr. Albats revelation, it stands to reason that the new Ambassador would have known first hand about Sonia’s connections with the KGB. He may have in fact been her “controller” and local contact. The new Indian government today which is defacto Sonia’s, cannot afford to annoy him or even disregard Russian demands that come from him. The Sonia coterie will obviously seek to placate him so as not to risk exposure. Is this not a major national security risk for India and a delicate matter for the nation’s sovereignty?
Of course, all Indians would like good normal and healthy relations with Russia. Who can forget their assistance to us in times of need? Today’s Russia is the residual legatee of that Soviet Union which helped India. But just because of that, should we tolerate those in our government set up having clandestine links with a foreign spy agency? In the United States, the government did not tolerate an American spying for Israel even though the two countries are as close as any two countries can be. National security and friendship are as different as chalk and cheese.
In December 2001, I had filed a Writ Petition in the Delhi High Court with the photocopies of the KGB documents, and sought a CBI investigation which the Vajpayee Government was stoutly refusing. Earlier, Minister of State for CBI, Vasundara Raje[now Rajasthan CM], on my letter dated March 3, 2001, had ordered the CBI to investigate. But after Sonia Gandhi and her party stalled the proceedings of Parliament on this issue, the then Prime Minister Vajpayee overruled and cancelled Vasundara’s direction to the CBI.
The Delhi High Court in May 2002 issued a direction to the CBI to ascertain from Russia the truth of my charges. The CBI procrastinated for two years, and finally told the Court that without an FIR registered, the Russians will not entertain any such query. But who stopped the CBI from registering an FIR? The Vajpayee government! And why? Thereby hangs another tale.
The next hearing of the case is imminent. But now Sonia is in the driver’s seat, and the CBI has been reduced in independence even further.
