Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently accused the Congress of humiliating “every institution important to our democracy”. This bitter remark came soon after Congress criticized the Supreme Court’s judgment that rejected the pleas seeking probe into the Rafale deal. The opposition has also demanded setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for an impartial investigation into the matter. The defense procurement of Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) is getting more complex by the moment. The Central Auditor General (CAG), the Supreme Court of India, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Defence Ministry and several other public and private enterprises are embroiled in this hellfire.
What is the Rafale deal controversy?
In April 2015, Government of India announced that the country will purchase 36 aircraft from the French aviation company Dassault in ready-to-fly condition. This decision was taken in order to improve the strategic capabilities of our Air Force. The decision was formalized in an inter-government agreement between India and France in January 2016 with a total cost of Rs. 58,000 crores or 7.8 billion Euros. In doing so, the NDA government took a 180-degree turn from it’s earlier decision to scrap the previous deal on the matter.
The previous UPA government, after a ten-year-long negotiation process agreed on acquiring 126 aircraft, with 18 aircraft in ready-to-fly condition and the remaining 108 aircraft to be assembled in India by the public sector company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Modi government after coming to power canceled the deal saying that the twin power engine aircraft are too expensive. However, after his visit to France in April 2015, the deal was reinstated on new terms. As per the new agreement, India would now buy 36 aircraft in a ready-to-fly condition with specific add-ons suited for Indian conditions. This would be undertaken by Dassault in collaboration with DRDO and HAL.
In November 2016, the opposition decried the deal as a scam on two terms. One of the major bone of contention was the inflated cost of the planes and changed terms of purchase. Congress claimed that the cost of each plane was three times more than that in the previous arrangement. Further, the selection of the Anil Ambani led Reliance Defence Limited as Dassault’s Indian offset partner also raised suspicion.
Both of these allegations were vehemently opposed by the government. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her statement said that the increased cost was due to better technological package and superior logistical support absent in the previous deal. Further, the clauses of the deal had vested the power of selecting an Indian partner with Dassault. The government had no role in the selection of Reliance Defence Ltd. as the French firm’s offset partner.
The present situation
Presently, the Rafale deal is a raging controversy. The Government has refused to divulge the details of the prices of the aircraft citing national security issues. Therefore, all the information in the public domain is from ‘unofficial’ sources. Moreover, former French President Hollande in his statement had said that the ‘Government of India had pushed for Reliance Defence Ltd. as the offset partner for Dassault’. Citing discrepancies in the deal, two former BJP legislators Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha, and prominent PIL activist Prashant Bhushan filed a review petition in the SC. They urged the court to order an independent probe into the Rafale deal. However, a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi rejected the review petition. The court has in its statement said that there are no substantial reasons for the court to intervene in this matter. The Court has based its decision on sealed envelopes submitted by the government which are not in the public domain. The court’s decision is also being questioned. It incorrectly assumes that the CAG report on the matter has been reviewed by the PAC, which was an important factor in the decision. The leader of the opposition and PAC chairman, Mallikarjun Kharge has denied receiving any such report from the CAG which exonerates the ruling regime. The opposition is now adamant on setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee for investigating this matter. Moreover, the government has most requested the Hon’ble Supreme Court to change paragraphs in its decision for rectifying some ‘grammatical’ errors. These paragraphs are also incidentally related to the review of the CAG report by the PAC.
Conclusion
An impartial investigation into the matter will only tell whether the deal is fair or crooked. But, the conduct of the government during this entire controversy has certainly created room for suspicion. Therefore, it becomes imperative that a committee be set up at the earliest for investigating this matter and uncovering the facts of the deal.
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