Govt ‘wronged’ country on Rafale, only JPC can probe deal, says Chidambaram

New Delhi: Firing a fresh salvo on the Rafale issue, the Congress on Friday alleged that the NDA government has wronged the country by reducing the number of aircraft bought under the deal as it “denied” the IAF the fighter jets it “desperately” needed and gave a “windfall” to Dassault Aviation by paying more per aircraft.
Addressing a press conference, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said the government did not buy the 90 more aircraft needed by the Air Force and paid Rs 186 crore more to French firm Dassault, maker of Rafale, for 13 India-specific enhancements in the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA).
The former finance minister reiterated his party’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale jet deal, saying the decision is not amenable to court but to a parliamentary panel.
The Congress has alleged earlier that the prime minister increased the ‘Benchmark Price’ of Rafale deal from 5.2 billion Euros to 8.2 billion Euros and that the NDA government paid over Rs 1,600 crore per aircraft against UPA’s negotiated price of Rs 527 crore per aircraft, demanding answers as to who is responsible for the loss to the state exchequer.
Chidambaram’s press conference came in the backdrop of a media report claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to buy 36 aircraft instead of the 126 asked for by the Indian Air Force pushed the price of each jet up by 41.42 per cent.
“There is no doubt any longer that Rafale aircraft deal deserves to be examined thoroughly by a joint parliamentary committee. The Congress reiterates its demand for constitution of a JPC,” Chidambaram told reporters.
The Congress leader said he feels that Dassault “is laughing all the way to the bank”, as the NDA government gave a “gift” to the French firm over amortization or recovery on the cost of 13 India-specific enhancements sought in the aircraft that cost 1,300 million Euros.
He said the cost of these enhancements have been recovered by Dassault in 36 aircraft and the same should have been recovered by it for 126 aircraft instead.
“The government has compromised national security by denying to the Air Force the 7 squadrons (126 aircraft) that it desperately needs,” he tweeted earlier.
Chidambaram said serious issues are being raised in media reports about the process of decision-making in the NDA government and alleged that “the man who got away was Manohar Parrikar who passed the buck to the Cabinet Committee on Security. Clever man.” (PTI)