Cong accuses Defence Minister of 'lying' on IAF's fighter jet requirements

The Congress Thursday accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of "lying" about the number of fighter aircraft required by the Indian Air Force, and termed as "preposterous" her claim that the IAF does not have parking and maintenance facility to fly 126 fighter jets.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to "arbitrarily" reduce requirement of 126 fighter aircraft to 36 is "unexplainable". Surjewala reiterated his party's demand for a joint parliamentary committee report in the Rafale deal.

"Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is caught lying again on the number of fighter aircraft required by Indian Air Force...PM Modi's decision to arbitrarily reduce requirement of 126 fighter aircraft to 36 is unexplainable," he told reporters.

In a newspaper report Thursday, Sitharaman was quoted as saying the government decided to purchase only 36 Rafale fighter jet from France instead of the 126 being negotiated by the UPA government as infrastructure and other technical requirements of the Indian Air Force do not allow for greater procurement.

"The claim of the defence minister that IAF does not have parking and maintenance facility to fly 126 fighter jets is preposterous and goes against the grain of national security requirements," Surjewala said.

He said the defence minister's argument is "obnoxious" and asked if the government and the Air Force cannot create parking space/maintenance facility in 6-8 years period, during which the aircraft will be delivered.

"Can creation of parking space/maintenance facility be a ground for compromising air superiority and national security?" he asked.

Alleging a scam in the Rafale deal, the Congress leader asked how can the defence minister shed her responsibility by saying that it is a decision taken by 'commercial enterprise' in selecting a private player for offset contracts worth Rs 30,000 crore when it is a 'government-to-government contract'.

"Does she forget her own claim that it is a 'government-to-government contract' backed by 'Inter Governmental Agreement' (IGA) and the amount of Rs 61,000 crore is being paid by Government of India to Dassault? Does it not prove malice and mala fides of the Modi Government?
Surjewala alleged, "Lie, belie and fly in face of stark truth is the chameleon-like character of Modi Government."