Rafale deal: Congress demands JPC probe, gives adjournment notice in RS

Raising the pitch for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Rafale fighter jets deal, Congress on Friday gave an adjournment notice in the Rajya Sabha for a discussion on the issue and for fixing responsibility for the alleged scam.

Party's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma gave the notice, alleging irregularities and corruption in the multi-million fighter jets deal.

In his notice under rule 267, Sharma demanded the suspension of business/rules for Friday. The notice, was however, not accepted by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.

The notice alleged that they expressed various concerns over the "irregularities" and alleged corruption in the acquisition of Rafale jets.

It said the "arbitrary" decision of buying the jets, resulted in a loss of technology transfer in the manufacture of 108 fighter jets by public-sector Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and entailed a "massive loss" to the national exchequer.

The notice demanded that the alleged scam be investigated by a JPC to fix accountability.

The Congress had been raising the demand for a JPC probe into the deal and party members raised the demand both inside and outside the House on Friday.

While UPA chairperson and former party chief Sonia Gandhi led the protest by party MPs outside Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament complex and raised the demand for a JPC probe, members raised their demand by protesting inside the House.

Friday was the last day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

The Congress was likely to raise the pitch on the issue of alleged corruption in the Rafale deal in the coming times and make it a major poll issue.