Rafale dogfight: Arun Jaitley, Rahul Gandhi trade charges over deal

Rafale dogfight: Arun Jaitley, Rahul Gandhi trade charges over deal Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday wrote a Facebook blog, comprising 15 questions, challenging the Congress on accusations it has made on the Rafale deal

Politics News : Jaitley: The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) suffered from decision-making paralysis. Wasn’t the decade-long delay… due to UPA’s incompetence and indecisiveness?

Opposition’s charges: There was no “decade-long delay”. From 2004 to 2007, the Indian Air Force (IAF) framed the fighter’s requirements; from 2007 to 2011, the IAF conducted flight tests and only in 2011 did the IAF select the Rafale and the Eurofighter. In 2012, the Rafale was found cheaper and price negotiations began with Dassault Jaitley: Did the UPA’s delay compromise national security, given the IAF’s urgent need for fighters?

Opposition’s charges: Why did the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) wait for more than one year before buying the Rafale in 2015? National security was compromised by reducing the number from 126 (in the UPA tender) to 36, and doing away with the Make in India component Jaitley: Was UPA’s failure to buy the Rafale motivated by “collateral considerations” like in Bofors?

Opposition’s charges: The UPA did not buy the Rafale, so there is no question of bribes. If there are questions of “collateral considerations”, they relate to Anil Ambani, and how he mysteriously replaced Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in the deal Jaitley: How has Rahul Gandhi given contradictory figures for cost of the Rafale: Rs 7 bn, Rs 5 bn, 5 bn, and Rs 5.3 bn?

Opposition’s charges: Why is the government refusing to release the real figures, both of Dassault’s 2007 bid and the cost of the current contract?

Jaitley: Is the Congress aware of the Rafale price that Dassault quoted in 2007 in its winning (L-1) bid? An escalation clause in that bid would have raised the price until the last fighter was delivered. Has forex variation been considered…Read More