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The Congress said on Thursday that the Rafale scam has begun to stink and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is is sinking because of it. Citing media reports that a Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry, who objected the pricing of Rafale jets, had to go on leave, senior Congress leader S Jaipal Reddy said the Prime Minister’s Office influenced the entire deal.
“So far we haven’t got the answer for why the aircraft were reduced from 126 to 36. What happens to the remaining aircraft? The Rafale scam has begun to stink and Modi has begun to sink,” Reddy told reporters at a press conference convened at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters.
Reddy said the Centre should confirm whether Joint Secretary Rajeev Verma had asked the it to bargain with France. “The Joint Secretary had to go on leave. Smitha Nagraj, who was appointed as senior officer, overruled the Joint Secretary’s point,” Reddy said.
Reddy said Verma objected because the price decided by the UPA government was lesser than the NDA’s deal, and Eurofighter had offered to supply same kind of aircraft at 20 per cent cheaper rate.
Objections raised
“Joint Secretary objected to the deal already signed by the PM,” Reddy said. “When the deal was signed by the head of the nation, what option did the subordinates had? They had to file the paperwork for ratification by the Cabinet Committee on Security,” he added.
The senior leader said a deal signed by Modi and former French president Francois Hollande had to be signed between the Defence Ministers of the two countries. “The then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart signed this formal ratification on September 2016. More than one year later,” Reddy said.
“I am not aware of any major Defence pact being ratified after the deal was signed. It’s an exceptional case of post-facto ratification.”
He said Modi and the BJP are trying to contradict former President of a country that stood with India during its toughest times. “Prime Minister of India is being contradicted by a former President of responsible world power. Can anybody give a single example where Indian PM is contradicted by a major friendly, western democracy?” Reddy asked.
“The Rafale scam is getting thicker with every passing day,” the leader added.
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