Rafale Deal: Congress seeks probe, moves Central Vigilance Commission

Continuing its battle against the Narendra Modi government over the controversial Rafale deal, a Congress delegation on Monday, September 24, met the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) seeking a probe into the alleged corruption in the inter-governmental defence deal to procure 36 fighter jets.

An 11-member delegation led by Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, met CVC KV Chowdary and submitted a memorandum claiming that the Rafale deal has emerged as India's "biggest defence scam". Accusing the government of causing loss to the public exchequer and endangering national security by bypassing state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in favour of some businessman “friends” for the lucrative offset contract.

The delegation comprised senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha, Parmod Tiwari and Pranav Jha.

“Tracks of corruption are getting unraveled by the day with repeated disclosures getting no answers from the Defence Ministry of the day. The stench of corruption and cronyism in the Rafale deal is nauseating, requiring urgent intervention by your good self,” the party said in the memorandum.

The Congress move comes days after the party approached the Comptroller and Auditor General of India Rajiv Mehrishi for a special and forensic audit of the Rafale deal.

The Congress has launched an offensive against the BJP government over the Rafale deal, alleging corruption and violation of rules by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded answers from him. It has also accused the prime minister, the finance minister and the defence minister of “lying on the issue”.

The Rafale controversy took a sensational turn on September 21, after former French president Francois Hollande claimed that the Indian government proposed Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Limited name as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation, at the cost of state-run HAL.

Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighters after holding talks with the then French President Francois Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.

With inputs from IANS, PTI

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