The opposition challenged the centre to reveal the details regarding the Rafale deal to no avail. The Ministry of defence said that the challenge regarding the aircraft deal was ‘unfounded’. The ministry also said that misleading statements could cause serious damage.
The Rafale deal as a matter of national security
The opposition demanded earlier this week to know the details of the Rafale deal. The earlier UPA government had promised a deal of 126 Rafale fighter aircrafts. But, the NDA government has closed the deal for 36 aircrafts. The matter of the Rafale deal has been circulating in the news for years now. The questions regarding the deal were put before the Minister of Defence, Nirmala Sitharaman. But the ministry said that the per aircraft details were ‘classified’.
It was argued that, “In not revealing the item-wise details of the contract, the government is merely following in letter and spirit the confidentiality provisions of a bilateral India-France Agreement of 2008 signed by the previous government.“
The agreement between the two countries was signed on January 25th, 2008. The agreement was to last 10 years which came to end on January 24th, 2008. The cost of each aircraft is approximately 670 crores. The ministry said that the rough acquisition was already provided to the parliament. The total cost of procuring 36 aircrafts is Rs. 59,000 crores. The ministry argued that the current government sealed a more realistic deal as compared to the previous government.
The allegations
The Congress alleged that the new deal was not transparent and that it was vastly expensive and it included no transfer of technology. In the earlier proposal, by the UPA government the Ministry of Defence pointed out that there was no provision for transfer of technology, but an agreement to manufacture 108 of the 126 aircrafts under license. Ultimately the deal failed to materialise. Nirmala Sitharaman also said that for an order of this size seeking transfer of technology wouldn’t have been cost-effective. Congress also alleged in the past that Anil Ambani was one of the beneficiaries of the deal. But no Indian offset partner for the deal was selected said the MoD. The matter seems to be a long-drawn game of blame and one-upmanship.