Congress demands public debate, detailed inquiry into Rafale deal

The Congress on Saturday stepped up its criticism of the Narendra Modi government over the Rafale fighter jet deal, alleging that established defence procurement procedures were bypassed and senior ministers were kept out of the negotiations.

Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram called for a public debate and a detailed investigation into what he described as the "secretive" manner in which the agreement for 36 Rafale aircraft was finalised.

Addressing a press conference at the West Bengal Pradesh Congress headquarters, Chidambaram alleged that the price of the aircraft had increased substantially compared with the price negotiated by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

According to him, the UPA government had negotiated a proposal to purchase 126 Rafale aircraft from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation. Under that arrangement, 18 aircraft were to be supplied in flyaway condition, while the remaining 108 were to be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru under a technology-transfer arrangement.

Chidambaram claimed that the negotiated price under the UPA arrangement was around Rs 526 crore per aircraft. On that basis, he said, 36 aircraft would have cost approximately Rs 18,940 crore.

He said the situation changed after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance came to power in 2014. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France on April 10, 2015, India announced an agreement to purchase 36 Rafale aircraft directly from Dassault.

Chidambaram said the government did not publicly disclose the price of the new deal but claimed that figures in Dassault Aviation's subsequent financial reporting indicated a value of around 7.5 billion euros, which he put at roughly Rs 60,000 crore at the time.

Based on those figures, he calculated the cost at approximately Rs 1,670 crore per aircraft and questioned the difference between that figure and the earlier negotiated price.

"If these numbers are correct, will someone explain why the price has gone up three times?" Chidambaram asked, while challenging the government's argument that details of the agreement could not be disclosed because of confidentiality provisions.

He also questioned the decision-making process behind the deal, alleging that several established bodies under India's defence procurement system had not been involved.

"There is a defence procurement procedure which was completely bypassed," he alleged, claiming that the Contract Negotiation Committee and Price Negotiation Committee did not meet in connection with the purchase.

Chidambaram further alleged that the Cabinet Committee on Security, which is responsible for approving major defence acquisitions, was not involved and that key ministers were not informed about the negotiations.

The Congress has repeatedly raised questions over the Rafale agreement, particularly over pricing, the reduction in the number of aircraft from the earlier 126-aircraft proposal and the role of HAL. The government, however, has rejected the opposition's allegations and maintained that the new agreement was concluded in India's national interest.

Chidambaram said the Congress believed the issues surrounding the deal were serious enough to warrant a public discussion and a comprehensive inquiry.