New Delhi: Following the French National Financial Prosecutor's office (PNF) appointing a judge to investigate allegations of corruption and favouritism in the multi-billion-dollar sale of Rafale fighter jets to India in 2016, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP AK Antony called into question the silence of the Indian government on the issue. He said the government of India has no choice but to form a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the corruption charges in the Rafale deal.
"The prima facie corruption in the Rafale deal is now apparent. The intriguing silence of the Modi Government points towards mal-intent to hush up the corruption. The refusal of the BJP Government to probe and punish the guilty is even more astonishing, pointing towards a concerted effort to bury the scam," the MP from Kerala said.
Antony said that there was already a UPA-era deal to buy 126 aircrafts under negotiation. He questioned the rationale behind the Modi government's decision to reduce the number of aircrafts from 126 to 36 and sacrificing the all-important Transfer of Technology to India. He said that the unilateral decision by the Modi government was in complete derogation of the ‘Defence Procurement Procedure’.
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"Till today, neither the Prime Minister nor the BJP Government have explained the reason for reducing the number of aircrafts from 126 to 36 or the reason for sacrificing Transfer of Technology to India. BJP Government has also not explained the basis or the reason for enhancing the price of the 36 aircrafts or for denying the offset contract to the Government’s PSU, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. BJP Government has also not stated the reason for the fact that when clearance from ‘Defence Acquisition Council’ had been given and there was an ongoing tender for which negotiations were being finalized, how could the Prime Minister and the Government unilaterally enter into another agreement?" he questioned.
