New Delhi:

President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday raised a controversy after telling a Swedish newspaper that Bofors was not a scandal but a media trial.

President will be visiting Sweden in some days.

While talking to a Swedish daily, President said, “First of all - it is yet to be to be established that there was a scandal. No Indian court has established it. I was the defence minister of the country long after Bofors, and all my generals certified that this is one of the best guns we are having. Till today, Indian army is using it. The so-called scandal which you talk of, yes, in the media, it was there. There was a media trial. But I'm afraid, let us not be too much carried by publicity."



On being asked if it was just a media scandal, President clarified that he never said that, however, it was media which publicised the issue.

In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi government came under Bofors scandal, which was a $285 million contract between the Indian government and Swedish arms company Bofors.

The accusations were made by Swedish Radio which alleged that Bofors paid illegal commissions to top Indian politicians and key defence officials to seal the deal.

Due to the repercussions’, Rajiv Gandhi lost in Lok Sabha elections.

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