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The Bofors controversy also brought Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi into the spotlight.

The Bofors controversy also brought Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi into the spotlight. He was accused of acting as a middleman and receiving alleged kickbacks in the deal. Rajiv Gandhi was also accused of receiving kickbacks, but the allegations against him were never established in court. V.P. Singh emerged as a key figure in the controversy. After being moved from Finance to Defence, he pushed for an inquiry into Bofors and resigned from Rajiv Gandhi’s government in 1987. He later left Congress, launched the Jan Morcha and became the face of an anti-corruption campaign. The controversy went on to become a major issue in the 1989 Lok Sabha election, contributing to Congress losing its majority. Four decades later, the Supreme Court’s latest order has finally brought the long-running legal saga to an end.