Govt rules out JPC probe in Rafale deal

Bolstered by the Supreme Court verdict on the Rafale deal, the government on Friday ruled out the possibility of a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the contract and mounted a strident counter-attack on the Congress, saying the "deaf" will never hear an answer.

At a joint press conference with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley called the allegations relating to Rafale jet deal as "fiction writing" that compromised national security, while adding that falsehood is bound to fall apart and "disrupters" have lost on all counts.

His comments were seen as an apparent reference to Congress president Rahul Gandhi who has been accusing the government of corruption in the Rs 58,000-crore deal for procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft from France. The Congress has been demanding a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to the deal.

"Falsehood is bound to fall apart. Indeed it has. Falsehood always has short life. In this case it was a few months. And falsehood always lowers the credibility of its creator," Jaitley said.

Asked about Congress reiterating its demand for a JPC probe even after the court order, Jaitley said, "The deaf will never receive an answer. They cannot hear it."
If the person concerned are in positions of power, then impeachment is initiated against them, he said, adding, "Those who created the untruth, should at least place the truth in the House."
The Finance Minister also said, "If honest deals in the interest of national security and commercial interest are brought under a clout, then civil servants and armed forces officers in future will think 10 times before going ahead with such exercise."
On Congress' charge of crony capitalism in selection of offset partner for the deal, Jaitley said, "People incapable of understanding serious issues tend to rely more on slogans than on substance. Merely a false statement of a political leader cannot taint the offset mechanism."