Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has admitted to 'theft' in the Rafale deal before the Supreme Court and changes made in the contract without consulting the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Gandhi tweeted in Hindi, "Modi ji has admitted to his theft in the Supreme Court. In the affidavit, he admitted to changes in the contract without asking the Air Force and put Rs 30,000 crore in Ambani's pocket. The picture is yet to come, my friend."
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma pointed out that Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Trappier has once said on record that "there is a work share agreement finalised between Dassault and HAL."
"Eric Trappier has said on record that there is a work share agreement finalised between Dassault and HAL. So which of his statement is correct? He has to clarify now," Sharma told ANI.
He further questioned Trappier, "I would like to ask Mr Eric Trappier why did he make this statement on March 26, 2015 in the presence of the then Indian Air Force chief Arup Raha and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) chief announcing that Dassault and the HAL have almost finalised the agreement."
Trappier in an exclusive interview to ANI rubbished allegations made by Gandhi that the former lied about the details of the Dassault-Reliance Joint Venture (JV) for offset contracts in the Rafale Jet deal.
"I don't lie. The truth I declared before and the statements I made are true. I don't have a reputation for lying. In my position as CEO, you don't lie," said Trappier when asked to respond to Rahul Gandhi's charge that Dassault was covering up for possible cronyism in awarding the offset deal to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.
On Monday, the Centre submitted details of its decision-making process in the Rafale aircraft deal to the Supreme Court. In its affidavit, the government said that all the requisite steps as per the requirement of Defence Procurement Procedure 2013 were followed while procuring the fighter planes.
The submission by the Central government was made in the 14-page document that has since been made public. However, the pricing details provided in a sealed cover are in the custody of the apex court. The court will peruse both the documents and hear the matter on Wednesday.
Gandhi, time and again, has accused the Narendra Modi-led NDA government of ousting HAL as Rafale's offset partner and choosing Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence Limited to save the company's debt-ridden chairperson and his business.
The Congress has been accusing the Centre of irregularities in the high-profile fighter jets contract, alleging that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
