No scam in Rafale deal: Sitharaman

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said allegations of scam in the Rafael deal are baseless.

"There is no shortage of Defence ammunition today. Allegations of scam in the Rafael deal are baseless," Sitharaman stated while addressing a press conference on the occasion of the completion of four years of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

On a related note, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has long been criticising the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government, alleging that the government has signed an overpriced deal.

Gandhi had also said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had cracked a better deal, while the incumbent government's deal will be causing a loss of over INR 40,000 crores. In February, Gandhi posed eight questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the deal and alleged that the Prime Minister personally went to Paris and changed the deal.

The NDA government issued a detailed clarification and said the Opposition was misleading the country over the Rafale deal, adding that its deal is better in terms of capability, price, equipment, delivery, maintenance, and training.

The NDA government has signed a deal with France based Dassault Aviation to purchase 36 Rafale jets, which is slated to be one of the world's biggest military procurements in recent history and could cost the Indian government a whopping USD 15 billion.