New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday again raked up the Rafale deal issue, claiming that French authorities had sought information from the Indian government on alleged corruption in the 2016 sale of fighter jets, and said it must come out with "full disclosure".
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said the Modi government can "no longer remain silent" on the issue. The Congress has been alleging corruption in the Rafale jet deal and had made it a major poll issue in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which it lost badly.
The Supreme Court had on November 14, 2019 rejected all the petitions related to Rafale jet deals. Earlier in December 2018, the apex court had given a clean chit to the Narendra Modi government on allegations of irregularities in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets, saying there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the deal.
Taking to Twitter, Surjewala said on Wednesday, "Mediapart, the French News Agency has again exposed in the 11th July, 2023 revelations the next series of Rafale disclosures. Paris Judicial authority investigating the 'corruption', 'influence peddling' and 'favouritism' in the 2016 Rafale Deal has asked Indian authorities for assistance in the investigation."
"Why is Modi Government not disclosing this to people of India? Why is it being buried under the carpet? What are the alleged information on corruption that is being sought by French authorities," he asked. The Congress leader also asked whether the tax demand of 151 million euros from Reliance Flag Atlantic France was reduced by 144 million euros to 6.6 million euros.
"Did it have any connection with the 2016 Rafale Deal for 36 aircraft at all? The Modi Government can no longer remain silent. It must come clean with full disclosure of facts. Truth demands truth," he said on Twitter while sharing the Mediapart statement. The Mediapart report, which comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France, claims an Indian businessman sought the help of then French President and the Finance Ministry over the tax bill of 151 million euros.
The issue, it said, is part of the ongoing French judicial investigation. India had procured 36 Rafale jets from France for the Indian Air Force and the last batch arrived in December 2022. It was India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after importing Sukhoi jets from Russia.
Expansion of bilateral defence ties is expected to be a key focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Paris beginning July 13 with groundwork being finalised for procurement of 26 naval variant of Rafale jets from France. Prime Minister Modi will attend this year's Bastille Day Parade on July 14 as the guest of honour. Four Rafale fighter jets of IAF will also participate in the flypast. (PTI)
