Rafale fighter jet deal: Congress delegation to meet CAG today
A Congress party delegation is slated to meet the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) today around noon. The delegation is likely to discuss the alleged ‘irregularities’ in the Rafale fighter jet deal.
Today's meeting will be second discussion Congress will have with the CAG. Earlier on September 19, the opposition party met with the CAG and submitted a memorandum and a number annexes of seeking probe into the fighter jet deal.
“We explained to the CAG how Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was removed from the deal to benefit a private player. We hope the CAG will give its report soon. The CAG has assured us that they are already examining all aspects of the deal. We expect that when the report on the deal comes out in public domain, the real scam will come out and the truth shall prevail,” PTI quoted Surjewala as saying after last month's meeting.
The 20-point memorandum entailed the chronological history of the deal and provides annexures as ‘proof of how the current NDA government distorted the original tender’ signed by its predecessor UPA government.
Since the last meeting, the Congress has been consistently maintaing a daily dose of attacks on the Modi government on the matter of Rafale deal. In the latest round, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged that Modi government hands out contracts to loan defaulters.
Taking a swipe at the Modi government and Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani over Rafale deal, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that to bag a defence contract one has to be a "defaulter of Rs 45,000 crore".
"Modi's Operandi for handing out India's biggest defence contracts -- 1. Be a defaulter of (Rs) 45,000 crore. 2. Owe money to other companies who beg Supreme Court not to let you leave India. 3. Be called 'Bhai' by PM but have no relevant experience," Gandhi said in a tweet.
The Rafale controversy took a new turn last month after Francois Hollande, who was French president when the Rs 58,000 crore deal was announced, was quoted as saying by French publication Mediapart that France was given "no choice" on selection of the Indian partner for Dassault, the manufacturer of Rafale jets.
The Indian government proposed the name of Reliance as offset partner for the French aerospace giant, he said.
The BJP and Reliance Defence have dismissed all the allegations made by the opposition on the Rafale issue as false.
PM Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighters after holding talks with Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.
Also read | Rafale is a good aircraft, will be game-changer for subcontinent: Indian Air Force chief
