Defence Minister rejects demand for JPC into Rafale deal

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Tuesday rejected the opposition's demand for setting up of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe allegations relating to the Rafale deal, saying all the details on it have already been placed before Parliament.

She also slammed the UPA alleging that it did not extend support to Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) when the state-run company was engaged in talks with French firm Dassault Aviation for manufacturer of Rafale jets in India.

"The UPA did not care for either the Indian Air Force or the HAL. To say that we are not taking care of HAL is totally incorrect," Sitharaman said during an interaction at the Indian Women Press Corps here.

The UPA was negotiating a deal with the Dassault Aviation under which 18 Rafale jets were to be supplied in fly-away condition while 108 aircraft were to be manufactured in India by the company along with HAL.

Asked about the opposition's demand for probe by a joint parliamentary committee, Sitharaman said there was no need for it as all facts relating to the deal have been placed before Parliament.

"Why JPC? We have placed all the details before the Parliament. The opposition should go through them," she said.

Asked about Congress leader A K Antony's comments on why the central government did not go for buying 126 aircraft instead of 36 jets if the price was less than what was negotiated by the UPA, Sitharaman did not give a direct reply. Antony was the defence minister during the UPA regime.

"Buying an aircraft is not an over-the-counter process. There is a process for it," she said.

At a press conference, Antony said Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently claimed that in the new agreement, the aircraft is nine per cent cheaper than the UPA deal, the finance minister said it is 20 per cent cheaper while an officer of IAF also said it is 40 per cent cheaper, then "Why did they not buy more than 126 if it was cheaper?" he told reporters.

Asked about rumours that negotiations for the Rafale deal under the UPA government could not proceed due to allegations of kickbacks, she said "let the rumour gain strength".

In 2016, the Modi government signed a government-to-government deal with France for purchase of 36 Rafale jets at a cost of Rs 58,000 crore. The Congress has been alleging irregularities in the deal, saying the UPA had finalised the price of each aircraft at Rs 526 crore while the NDA was buying the same jet at Rs 1,670 crore.

The government has been maintaining the cost of the Rafale aircraft was nine percent less than what was negotiated during the UPA regime.

Last week Sitharaman said negotiations for 126 Rafale jets under the UPA government fell through as the government did not support HAL to which Congress alleged that the NDA completely kept away the state-run company from the project.

"Dassault and HAL could not go together. The agreement did not happen during UPA, so is not it obvious that the interests of HAL could have really been taken care of," Sitharaman said
She said the UPA should reply why HAL could not finalise the agreement with Dassault. "All questions on HAL should go to UPA."