Armed forces not compelled to buy equipment from Indian companies: Defence Minister

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that the armed forces are not bound by her

to buy defence equipment only from Indian companies and they could take the call and decide what is good for national security.

Speaking at the Indian Defence Conclave, she underlined: "The armed forces are not compelled by me to buy defence equipment from Indiancompanies. I have to make sure their operational preparedness is not

curbed. It is on them to decide what is good for them." This comes a day after the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on the

petitions demanding a court-monitored probe into the Rafale deal in which the government bought 36 ready-to-fly jets in a

 

government-to-government deal with France.

The Rafale jet deal controversy has been on the boil over the last few months. The Congress and other opposition parties have been alleging

irregularities in the high-profile deal.