Media played a major role in unseating Rajiv Gandhi following a Swedish private radio revelation that kickbacks were paid to clinch the Bofors deal. That after much mud- slinging , crores of money spent on shoddy investigations, events that united the right and left to choose a leader who is likened to a modern day Mir Jaffar, and much water having flown under the Ganges and Jamna, with no conclusive proof that Rajiv benefited in any way from the deal, media has chosen to become a King maker yet again. This time their target is again the late Rajiv Gandhi since his son Rahul seems to have no major allegations ( allegations of KGB kick backs in Swiss banks in his name leveled by some BJP think tank not withstanding) . It is again ironically the sedate south Indian media house of Kasturi & sons owners of The Hindu who have published a wikileaks revelation that Rajiv was probably a middleman for a failed aircraft deal for a Swedish company which was botched up by US interests. I do not understand the distaste that this newspaper holds for our Ex Prime minister for it has declared itself to be a left leaning newspaper and staunch believer of secular values.

I read the excerpts of the so called explosive leaks from Kissinger era. The innuendoes- at the best they are innuendoes for they are not backed up by any evidence of Rajiv having ever influenced arms purchase- even if he did, he lost the cause. So why this fuss about his alleged role of a facilitator for the failed deal?

The period was in early seventies when India was engaged in liberation of East Pakistan when US was  using all its power to stop this from happening. Richard Nixon even tried intimidating with dispatch of his seventh fleet. The rest as they say is history. To imagine that Indira Gandhi who was in her zenith of glory would even have taken any interference by her elder son in an arms deal concerning our national security is foolish and devoid of substance. Rajiv was a poor pilot with Indian Airlines with no political ambitions whatsoever. To believe the cock and bull story of US state department who cried over the roof top on the non existent WMD in Iraq to overthrow and kill Saddam Hussein is unbecoming of the national newspaper that it claims it is.