A recent report by a French media outlet saying that commissions were paid between 2007 and 2012 for securing the Rafale deal with India has re-ignited a political debate between the BJP and the Congress.
Seizing on the report, the Bharatiya Janata Party has said that the Indian National Congress should be renamed as “I Need Commission” while the Congress has accused the Narendra Modi-led government of trying to “cover-up” corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal and demanded a JPC probe into it.
The dispute started after French investigative journal Mediapart claimed that alleged bogus invoices were used that enabled French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation to pay at least €7.5 million in secret commissions to a middleman to help it secure the Rafale deal with India.
According to the investigation, Dassault Aviation paid the kickbacks to the intermediary in Mauritius between 2007 and 2012. The Congress-led UPA was in power between 2004 and 2014.
The media report has led the ruling BJP to launch an aggressive counter-attack on its main opposition for the first time after confining itself mostly to dismissing the allegations of corruption in the deal.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra launched a scathing attack on the Congress leadership, especially Rahul Gandhi who has been alleging corruption in the purchase of the fighter aircraft by the Modi government, and accused him of spreading “canard, disinformation and lies”.
The Modi government had inked the deal on September 23, 2016, to procure 36 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the UPA regime.
“For the Congress to attack the Modi government for corruption in the fighter aircraft deal is a case of a thief targeting the cop,” Patra said and sought Rahul’s response to the fresh claims by Mediapart. He should respond to this from Italy, Patra said, citing reports that the Congress leader is not in India.
Corruption’s address has been 10 Janpath, he alleged, referring to the residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and claimed that it has become “homeless” after the BJP came to power.
The Congress hit back at the BJP, saying that the government has launched “operation cover-up” and demanded to know as to why it had not probed the entire episode so far.
Noting that his party has been seeking a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the deal, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera asked as to why the government has not agreed to this.
(With inputs from PTI)
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