Raising the pitch of its attack on the Narendra Modi government over alleged irregularities in the purchase of Rafale aircraft, the Congress on Tuesday alleged a direct deal between the prime minister and industrialist Anil Ambani.
Senior Congress leader S. Jaipal Reddy claimed that while the foreign secretary and even the defence minister were not aware that Modi was to sign the Rafale contract during his trip to France in April 2015, Ambani knew about it at least 12 days in advance.
“The foreign secretary, two days before the deal, on April 8, 2015, said categorically that the Rafale deal would not be discussed, let alone finalised in the meeting between the Prime Minister of India and the President of France,” Reddy said.
He also said that the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, in a clear indication that he was not aware that the deal was to be signed, backed up the decision taken by the prime minister. “Here is a strange case of a defence minister backing up the prime minister,” he said.
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“But there was one person in the country apart from the prime minister, who knew that the contract would be signed. It was Anil Ambani,” Reddy said. He stated that Ambani, 12 days prior to the signing of the contract, registered his company that was to deal with the Rafale offset. This, he said, meant that Ambani knew beforehand that the Rafale deal was being signed and that the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited would be removed from the picture with regard to offset contract.
“Therefore, I am contending in a responsible way that Mr Anil Ambani could have known this secret only through conversations with the prime minister,” Reddy said.
The pointed reference to an alleged deal between Modi and Ambani was made even as the industrialist has served notices to a few Congress leaders over their allegations regarding his company's role in the Rafale deal. Intensifying its attack on the Modi government over Rafale, the Congress is holding press conferences all over the country to highlight the alleged irregularities in the purchase of the fighter aircraft, and Reddy, who recently made a comeback on the Delhi scene, was given the task of leading the charge in the national capital.
The senior leader also compared Modi with Louis XIV of France to say that the prime minister behaved like a medieval monarch when he went to Paris. “Just as Louis XIV had said 'I am the state', Modi, too, believes he is the state and he does not need to consult anyone or follow procedures,” he said.
A reference was also made to Dassault's rival company Eurofighter having reportedly made an offer to the Modi regime in July, 2015 to sell aircraft at 20 per cent lower price as compared to the French fighter. “Why did the NDA government still stick to Rafale?” Reddy asked.
Also, taking a dig at the Modi dispensation, Reddy said that a 'lightweight' minister like Nirmala Sitharaman was contradicting a senior leader like A.K. Antony on the Rafale deal. “Heavyweights like Murli Manohar Joshi have been eliminated. Lightweights like Nirmala Sitharaman have been elevated. And middleweights are marginalised. The cabinet is full of upgraded junior ministers. The problem is that they do not have stature and standing,” he said.