No harm in disclosing price details of Rafale deal: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government saying that there is no harm in disclosing the details pertaining to the Rafale deal.

The NCP leader said, "I think there is no harm in disclosing the price. I was in the Parliament when during United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Bofors issue was raised and at that time they (BJP) including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj used to demand that all information should be disclosed."

The much-debated Rafale deal was signed in 2016 between the Prime Minister Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and the French Government for 36 jets after the original UPA deal, to buy 18 off-the-shelf jets and assemble another 108 in India, was scrapped.

The war of words between the BJP and the Congress intensified after former French president Francois Hollande claimed that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence's name as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation. However, he later backtracked and said only Dassault could comment on the partnership.