NEW DELHI: Attacking the Prime Minister’s Office for alleged “parallel negotiations” in the Rafale deal, opposition leaders on Friday asked the government to come clean on objections raised by the defence ministry at that time with AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal going to the extent of demanding an “independent” CBI raid to seize all related files and arrest everyone involved.
Latching on to an article in The Hindu newspaper, which claimed that the Defence Ministry had raised strong objections to “parallel discussions” conducted by the PMO during negotiations for the Rs 59,000-crore fighter jet deal between India and France, the opposition leaders also raised questions on the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, however, dismissed the media report as “flogging a dead horse” and accused the opposition of playing into the hands of multinational companies and vested interests. She also said that periodical enquiries by the PMO cannot be construed as interference.
Reacting to the report, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “I’d like to see how this one is explained by the talking heads aligned to the BJP. @PMOIndia ‘weakened the negotiating position of the Ministry of Defence & the Indian Negotiating Team’ as per this note in a MOD file that went up the the Defence Minister.”
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that Prime Minister Modi has consistently undermined the Air Force and the Defence Ministry to benefit his “cronies” in the Rafale deal. “Modi has consistently undermined the Air Force & Defence Ministry in the Rafale deal for corruption, to benefit his cronies. His actions have hurt the public exchequer & damaged national security. These facts have been hidden from Supreme Court where a review petition is pending,” Yechury tweeted.
“The PM must take responsibility for the loss to the exchequer, violation of procedure to get far fewer fighter jets than what Air Force wanted. All just to help cronies,” the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader said.
AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal demanded CBI raid on PMO and arrests in connection with Rafale fighter jet deal. “In the light of today’s expose on Rafale, “independent” CBI should raid PMO, seize all the files related to Rafale and make arrests just like they raided my office and residence and Kolkata Police Commissioner,” he tweeted.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi also used the media report, quoting notes in an MoD file, to fire a fresh salvo at the prime minister and alleged the PMO was directly involved in negotiations with the French side on the Rafale deal and that it was guilty in the alleged scam. “I want to speak to every member of the armed forces of this nation… Here, it is absolutely clear that the prime minister has stolen Rs 30,000 crore of your money, bypassed a process, and given it to his friend Mr Anil Ambani,” Gandhi said at a press conference calling the deal as an “open and shut case”.
The BJP, however, described Gandhi’s allegations against Modi as “yet another lie from his lie-manufacturing factory” and accused the Congress president of working at the behest of foreign forces for cancellation of the fighter aircraft deal.
DMK President MK Stalin told reporters that Modi’s actions in the deal was akin to contempt of court. “PM Modi has come under the Supreme Court’s contempt. In its sealed envelope to SC, centre never mentioned PMO’s negotiations. Never ever in independent India, a Prime Minister was caught in such serious allegations,” he alleged. (PTI)
Rahul provoking armed forces against government: Sitharaman
NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday rejected Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ran parallel negotiation for the Rafale deal and accused him of provoking the armed forces against the government.
“Today I object to what Rahul has said — he was telling Air Force pilots and officers ‘look what Prime Minister is doing to you’. What does this mean, what is going on in his mind? Does he want to provoke them? Does he want to make them stand up against the government? Is it a responsible job of the Opposition? It is very dangerous,” she told media outside Parliament.
Sitharaman said that she was “very shocked” to see this attitude.
“Rahul Gandhi, in his press conference today, called the PM a thief and me a liar. I had also said earlier that as we have not come from a known family, so they try to tarnish our image.”
Her remarks came soon after Gandhi, earlier in the day, addressed a press conference and accused Prime Minister of being directly involved in the Rafale fighter jet deal with France by running parallel negotiation in 2015.
Lashing out at an English newspaper for carrying out a “one-sided” story, the Defence Minister said, “One newspaper has printed a file noting, which is written by (former) Defence Secretary. In the same note he is saying Defence Minister should make a statement.
“The then Defence Minister (Manohar Parrikar) has seen that noting and also signed it. What was the response of then Defence Minister Parrikar? I said the same thing in Parliament.”
Slamming the media house, she said, “If the news report carried one noting, then it should have also carried the response of the then Defence Minister in its news report. That is ethical journalism.”
Quoting the then Defence Minister’s reply to that file noting, Sitharaman said, “Your note is right, but there is no need to get excited so much. Everything is alright. This was Parrikar’s reply, which is there in the files of the Defence Secretary.”
“I am sorry there was selective noting and building an issue falsely on it,” she said, adding that the response of the then Defence Minister was very clear.
She also asserted that on the direction of the same Defence Secretary and the Member of the Negotiating Committee with their signatures, the file went to the Cabinet Committee on Security and Cabinet. “Only after that clearance was given and then an agreement signed,” she said.
Defending the Prime Minister and the PMO, Sitharaman said, “If the PMO asks for the progress in a matter, can it be considered interference or parallel negotiation?” (IANS)