Rafale deal: Hooda reiterates Cong demand for JPC probe

Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday said there were many contradictory facts in the Rafale deal and only a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe could make things clear.

He alleged that the NDA government inflated the rates of the Rafale fighter jet from Rs 526.1 crore, decided during the Congress-led UPA government's regime, to Rs 1,670.7 crore.

"People want to know how the cost of the aircraft rose three times within a few months. There are so many contradictory facts in the deal which can only be cleared in a JPC probe," Hooda told reporters here.

"Only a JPC probe can bring out the truth and hence it should be set up," he said.

The Congress has been carrying out a political campaign against the government, alleging massive corruption in the multi-million dollar deal. The government has been rejecting the charges.

Last week, in a relief for the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, the Supreme Court dismissed pleas challenging the Rafale deal, saying there was no occasion to "really doubt the decision making process" warranting setting aside of the contract.