Govt sources reject HAL ex-chief's claim that 126-Rafale deal was on track

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that HAL is incapable of building the advanced Rafale fighter

A government source on Thursday rebutted the statement by recently retired Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) chairman and managing director (CMD), T Suvarna Raju, that the 126-Rafale tender was on track at the time it was cancelled and that Dassault and HAL had agreed on a work share and submitted it to the government. 

In a national daily on Thursday, Raju rejected the notion that irreconcilable differences between Dassault and HAL had forced the government to abandon the tender for 126 Rafales. Raju also contradicted Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that HAL was incapable of building the advanced Rafale fighter.