Court's verdict on 'Operation Westend' highlights need to probe Rafale deal: Cong

A day after the Delhi court sentenced ex-Samata Party president Jaya Jaitley to four years jail term in a corruption case relating to a defence deal, Congress demanded to initiate a fresh probe in the arms procurement deal. Congress even asked for an apology as well as an explanation from BJP for its instrumental role in "hoodwinking" the nation and "compromising" on national security.

New Delhi: A day after a special CBI court convicted former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitley under the 2001 corruption case of "Operation Westend", relating to a defence deal, Congress party allegedly demanded a need of investigation in the procurement of Rafael jets by the BJP-led NDA government.

Addressing a press meet, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, "The conviction verdicts holding BJP and NDA leaders for hatching a criminal conspiracy, for the purposes of security and influencing a defence deal, exposed government's 3-C Model, 'Corruption, Commission and Criminal Conspiracy' intending to promote self-financial interest rather than serving the nation."

He further added, "The structure of defence procurement mechanism under BJP-NDA regime is filled with the cement of money-making, influencing and bribing even within the top leadership and decision-makers."

The Congress even sought an apology as well as an explanation from BJP for its instrumental role in "hoodwinking" the nation and "compromising" on national security. The case was initiated based on a sting named as 'Operation Westend' conducted by a news portal in 2001, aiming to expose the alleged corruption in the defence deals.

Connecting the matter with Rafael procurement deal, Shergill asserted over the need of "thorough" investment into the matter conducted by an independent agency, stating that "truth is not what BJP says".

He said, "The capabilities of Rafael does not give immunity to BJP from accountability on the issues of inflated costs, bypassing of rules and regulations and giving preference to a zero experience private player over a public sector undertaking."

Congress has repeatedly questioned central government for buying just 36 aircraft instead of 126, for which the UPA Government made a deal for Rs 526 crores per aircraft. While the NDA government has bought the aircraft at the cost of Rs 1670 crore.

The former Congress president Rahul Gandhi made a major issue of Rafael deal during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, accusing the Modi government of purchasing a lesser number of fighter jets at a much higher price as compared to the deal UPA government had agreed on.