The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the defence ministry to submit a report on the details of the decision-making process that led to the purchasing of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France. However, the apex court declined to interfere in the pricing and other technical details of the deal. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman leaves for France on Wednesday night on a three-day visit, during which she is expected to visit the Rafale manufacturing facility.
Soon after the developments in the court, officials in the defence ministry claimed that the court's observation on the fighter jet deal is a 'vindication' of government's stand. The officials said that all the due processes were followed in the deal and the ministry will hand over the details of the due process to the Supreme Court.
During her three-day visit to France, Sitharaman will have talks on defence cooperation and strategic alliance with key French government officials. Sitharaman's office maintained that during the visit, she will also take stock on the progress of the delivery of 36 Rafale jets by Dassault. The delivery of 36 Rafale jets is scheduled between 2019 to 2022, as the first aircraft will reach IAF by mid-2019 and the rest in next 30 months.
Last month, top IAF official, Air Marshal R. Nambiar, flew the Rafale jet manufactured for India from the front cockpit at the Istres Air Base in France. After flying the aircraft for over an hour, Air Marshal Nambiar claimed that it is a very good platform which is highly capable and would be a “game changer”. He said that Rafale will give IAF a huge boost of capability which never existed in this part of the world.
In fact, Air Marshal Nambiar, who is now heading the eastern command of the air force, defended the government's decision to buy 36 Rafale jets and said that the allegations do not match the facts at all. He also said that the government has saved nearly 40 per cent of money compared to the previous MMRCA deal.
The Congress has alleged irregularities in the deal by making claims that the Rafale deal was highly over-priced compared to the deal which the UPA was negotiating.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader S. Jaipal Reddy accused the government of “manipulating” the process of Rafale fighter jet agreement by "punishing" bureaucrats who raised objections to the deal and rewarding the "obliging officials".
He alleged that in 2016, the then joint secretary Rajeev Verma was overruled by the Director General (Acquisition) Smitha Nagraj to make way for the deal. He said Nagraj was brought to the ministry in place of the person who had the reputation of being unbending. Reddy also alleged that "obliging officers" were "rewarded" later, as he said Nagraj was appointed as member of the UPSC after her retirement.
The Congress party also reiterated its demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale deal.
