Govt misled nation on Rafale deal: Congress

Team Udayavani, Jul 23, 2018, 2:21 PM IST

New Delhi: The Congress today said there was no clause in a 2008 pact between India and France that prevents the government from divulging price details of the Rafale deal.

Former defence minister and senior Congress leader A K Antony said the government’s claim that a secrecy clause in the pact was forcing it to not reveal price details of the deal was “totally wrong”. They have to reveal price details of each aircraft, he said. 

He also said the government cannot hide the price details of the Rafale jets as the deal has to be scrutinised by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) as well as Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Addressing a press conference, his colleague Anand Sharma added that the government owes Parliament an explanation on why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman “misled” the nation on the price issue.

“The French government had no objection in revealing the price of the Rafale aircraft. This was conveyed by the French president to Rahul Gandhi,” he said.

Another Congress leader, Randeep Singh Surjewala, echoed him said the prime minister and the defence minister misled Parliament on the issue. This, he said, is clearly a matter of breach of privilege.