The ghost of Rafale fighter jet deal has raised its head again with a French media report saying commissions were paid between 2007 and 2012 for facilitating the jet contract with India, prompting the BJP to launch a scathing attack on the Congress saying there was not “a single defence deal” which did not involve “commission” during its regime and alleged that “the address of corruption is 10 Janpath”, the residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“The fresh French portal has proved that the Sonia-Manmohan-led Congress Government during 2007 to 2012 indulged in rampant corruption. Rahul and Sonia Gandhi broke all records of commissions and created a world record,” charged BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra here as the Congress accused the Modi Government of conducting an operation to “cover-up” corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal and asked why it did not initiate an investigation into the role of a middleman despite recovering incriminating documents from him.
Patra said during the Congress regime no defence deal was finalised without a commission and “the UPA Government indulged in a deal within a deal but even then could not seal a deal”, Patra said.
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. A batch of Rafale jets has already joined the Indian Air Force this year amidst continuing a stiff standoff between the Indian Army and the Peoples Liberation Army on the Eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control.
Patra said, “We had not seen the agreement of purchase but an agreement of commission has definitely come before us and the Congress Government not only engineered a conspiracy to grab commission but it has already been gone into their hands”.
Sharpening its attack on the Congress which had earlier accused the Modi Government of receiving commission in the jet deal, the BJP leader sought to ask “ Who says Corruption has no address?, Its address is 10, Janpath and since the arrival of the BJP Government corruption has become homeless and Gandhi family have turned helpless..”, he said.
Patra said the INC (Indian National Congress) should be renamed as “I Need Commission” and alleged that the Congress’ dissatisfaction with the cut on offer was behind the failed negotiations when it was in power.
He mounted a direct attack on the Congress leadership, particularly on Rahul 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”.
Patra sought Rahul Gandhi’s response to the fresh revelation by French investigative journal Mediapart.
He should respond to this from Italy, Patra said, citing reports that the Congress leader is currently not in India.
BJP leader castigated the Congress Government for delaying all defence purchases with what he said an intent to extract commissions and thus leaving Indian security in jeopardy.
“Under the UPA Government’s regime for ten years Indian Air force did not have fighter aircrafts and for a decade only agreement was made and deal was deliberately stuck solely for extracting the commission.. this agreement was not for the aircraft purchase but for the commission…”, Patra alleged.
Political battle over the matter has heated up after Mediapart made fresh claims that bogus invoices were used that enabled French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation to pay at least 7.5 million euros in secret commissions to a middleman to help it secure the Rafale deal with India.
According to Mediapart’s investigation, Dassault Aviation paid the kickbacks to the intermediary in Mauritius between 2007 and 201 when the Congress-led UPA was in power between 2004 and 2014.