Centre must explain Scorpene submarine leak, says Congress

The Congress Party on Wednesday demanded a proper explanation from the government and swift punishment against culprits involved in the reported leak of sensitive data related to India's Scorpene submarine.

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi told ANI that the leak of papers is a very serious matter as the national security is paramount.

"It is not a question of this or that. It is a question that the fundamentals of security for purposes of national security, national safety how they can be possible leaked?" he said.

"The government owes a very proper explanation and a strict punishment in the swiftest possible time. This should not go through a bureaucratic legalese with people trying to save their skin and passing the buck," he added.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar earlier today said he has asked Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba to analyse the extent of the leak and find out whether it is related to India or not.

Parrikar further asserted that the leak is not 100 percent.

"I have asked the naval chief to conduct full analysis of the incident as to what is the leak and what has been leaked about us. The first step is to identify, the second step is to identify the extent of unwarranted, but it is not all 100 percent, because we do have our final integration," Parrikar said.

"It came to my knowledge at around 12 last night, and what I understand is that there is a hacking. So, we will find out all these aspects," he added.

Parrikar further said that in the next couple of days they will come out with more information.

On Tuesday, a report in Australian media revealed that sensitive information related to India's Scorpene submarines has been leaked, with French shipbuilder DCNS, which designed the submarine, facing a leak of documents spreading over 22,000 pages.

According to The Australian, the leak details the entire secret combat capability of the six Scorpene-class submarines that French shipbuilder DCNS has designed for the Indian Navy.

As per reports, the leak includes details of the submarine's underwater sensors, above-water sensors, combat management system, torpedo launch system and specifications, communications system and navigation systems.