NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on September 23 hit back at Arun Jaitley on the Rafale issue, saying it’s time Arun Jaitley and the PM Modi stopped lying and call for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe for an “uncorrupted truth” to come out.
Rahul also tagged a media report highlighting how former French President Francois Hollande’s charges have hit the Modi government on the Rafale issue.
The NDA government’s decision to enter the government-to-government deal with France to buy 36 Rafale warplanes made by Dassault was announced in April 2015.
United Progressive Alliance regime’s decision to buy 126 Rafale aircraft, 108 of which were to be made in India by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
A report in a French investigative website on Friday quoted the former French president as saying that the Indian government proposed the name of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group as Dassault Aviation’s offset partner.
The French government said it was in no manner involved in the choice of Indian industrial partners for the Rafale deal, asserting that French firms have the full freedom to select Indian companies for the contract.
The government has been accused of choosing Reliance Defence over state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd though the private firm has no experience in the aerospace sector.
The deal has become controversial with the Opposition, led by the Congress, claiming that the price at which India is buying Rafale aircraft now is Rs 1,670 crore for each, three times the Rs 526 crore.
The ministry of defence said on Saturday that “unnecessary controversy” was being created by the opposition parties.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitely on Sunday said that whether the planes are bought at a higher rate or not is a matter for the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to examine.He asserted, irrespective of the allegations, the Rafale deal will not be cancelled.
Arun Jaitely said the French government has stated that the decision with regard to the offset contracts of Dassault Aviation are taken by the company and not the government.
Arun Jaitely expressed disappointment over how the complex deal to buy advanced military hardware has been dragged into politics.
Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked why Gandhi was “playing into the hands of the enemy by insisting that India disclose details of the weapon system that will be added to Rafale aircraft”.
On Saturday, Congress President Gandhi during a press conference had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence.
BJP president Amit Shah, too, attacked Gandhi over his remarks. “Rahul Gandhi says ‘Modi Hatao’. Pakistan says ‘Modi Hatao’. Now Pakistan also supports Rahul Gandhi’s baseless allegations against PM Modi.
BJP lawmaker Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday said the centre should come clean on the Rafale fighter jet deal.Mr Sinha was interacting with the media at the ‘Katol festival’ organised by local BJP lawmaker Ashish Deshmukh.
