On Monday, the Centre submitted an affidavit in connection with the Rafale fighter jets deal in the Supreme court. The document titled “Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order” has said that the process as laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure-2013 has been followed in procurement of the Rafale aircraft. The Centre in a sealed cover has filed the details of the pricing as well.
According to a ‘One India’ report, the Centre also stated that as far as discharging of the offset obligations by Dassault and its Tier I Vendors through Indian Offset partners is concerned, there is no mention of any private Indian Business House in intergovernmental agreement or Offset contract. The inter-governmental agreement between India and France was inked on Sept 23, 2016.
Last month, the Supreme court had asked the Centre for pricing details of the 36 Rafale fighter jets that India is buying from France in a sealed cover without disclosing “strategic and confidential” information.
The honorable Supreme court also asked center to provide, the details of steps in the decision making for the procurement of jets, which could “legitimately” be shared in the public sphere, with the parties who have filed petitions with respect to Rafale deal. Advocates Manohar Lal Sharma and Vineet Dhanda were the first one to file the petition demanding investigation in Rafale deal. Later on, AAP MP Sanjay Singh had also filed the petition in the matter. Then former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and notorious lawyer Prashant Bhushan also filed a joint petition on India’s deal with France to buy the fighter jets.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices Uday U. Lalit and KM Joseph had said, “If pricing is something exclusive and you are not sharing it with us, please file an affidavit and say so”. The bench further said, “At this stage, we would not like to record any findings or views with regard to the contents of the said report. Rather, we are of the opinion that such of the core information conveyed to the court in the aforesaid confidential report which can legitimately be brought into the public domain, be made available to the counsels for the petitioners in all the cases, as well as, the petitioners-in-person.”
The court will hear the matter on 14 November. The recent move of submitting an affidavit by the centre shows that it has nothing to hide in terms of decision making and the cost, contrary to what the opposition has been proclaiming.
As far as Rafale deal is concerned, in the recent past, the Congress, especially its President Rahul Gandhi has been valiantly trying to project Rafale deal as a scam. Rahul Gandhi has left no stone unturned in making allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal. He has been making a particular set of allegations ad nauseam, even after he has been exposed time and again.
