NEW DELHI: Dassault CEO Eric Trappier rubbished the Congress president’s claims that the former lied about the details of the Reliance Joint Venture (JV) for offset contracts in the Rafale Jet deal.
Dassault’s CEO Eric Trappier said that they had prior experience dealing with the Congress party and the comments made by the Congress president made him sad.
We have a long experience with the Congress party. Our first deal was with India in 1953 with Nehru and other Prime Ministers. We have been working with India. We are not working for any party.
We are supplying strategic products like fighters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Government. That is what is most important said Dassault CEO Eric Trappier.
Eric Trappier clarified further about the investments being made by Dassault, adding that Reliance would match the amount since the shareholding pattern is 49% Dassault and 51% Reliance as per prescribed Government norms.
During the first three years, we are not obliged to say with who we are working. We have already settled work and agreement with 30 companies, which represents 40% of total offset obligation as per contract.
Reliance is 10% out of the 40, while rest 30% is a direct agreement between these companies and Dassault, Eric Trappier said.
We chose Ambani by ourselves. We already have 30 partners other than Reliance,” Dassault CEO told news agency ANI in an interview against the backdrop of a Rafale jet parked in a hangar at Istre- Le Tube airbase in France.
Dassault CEO Eric Trappier said that if the initial deal of 126 jets went through they would not have hesitated to work with HAL and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance.
Congress termed the interview as “dictated” and said that “manufactured lies” could not “suppress” the Rafale scam.The interview comes before the Supreme Court takes up the government’s written explanation on its decision-making process and pricing details tomorrow.
