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Sunday 10 February 2019

No good sense in Modi govt: Congress on report of PMO dropping anti-corruption clause in Rafale deal

congress rafale deal modi pmo
The Congress has been attacking the BJP, and PM Modi in particular, for alleged irregularities in the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from French defence manufacturer Dassault Aviation. (Photo: Twitter/RahulGandhi)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Rahul Gandhi said PM Modi himself allowed Anil Ambani to steal Rs 30,000 crore
  • He said this money was stolen from the Indian Air Force
  • He was reacting to a media report saying PMO dropped anti-corruption clauses from Rafale deal
The Congress on Monday once again hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of waving off anti-corruption clauses just before signing the Rafale deal with France.
Party president Rahul Gandhi said the prime minister himself allowed Anil Ambani to "steal" Rs 30,000 crore.
"NoMo anti-corruption clause. The chowkidar himself opened the door to allow Anil Ambani to steal 30,000 crore from the IAF," he said in a tweet.
The Congress said this in response to a report published by The Hindu with the title 'Government waived anti-corruption clauses in Rafale deal'. It has been authored by N Ram, the publisher of the newspaper.
In a series of tweets, the Congress said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) disregarded the advice given to it. "Throwing all good sense to the wind, the PMO also discarded the advice to create an escrow account under the control of the French government to release payments from India. Instead it chose to pay Dassault upfront in advance. Who was the PMO trying to benefit?"


The Congress has been attacking the BJP, and PM Modi in particular, for alleged irregularities in the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from French defence manufacturer Dassault Aviation. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been accusing the prime minister to be a "thief" who "lied" to the country.

In another tweet in response to the newspaper report, the Congress said: "After the PMO forced the waiver of a sovereign guarantee, it now turns out the PMO asked for the waiver of standard anti-corruption clauses. Who was the PMO trying to shield?"
WHAT DOES THE MEDIA REPORT SAY:
1) In its report, The Hindu has alleged that the Rafale deal involved a "major and unprecedented concessions" from India. It said critical provisions for anti-corruption penalties were dropped days before the deal was signed.
2) It claimed that the Modi government did not submit this in its affidavit before the Supreme Court when the Rafale deal case was being heard.
3) According to the report, Financial Adviser Sudhansu Mohanty in an official note had observed that the clauses on 'Penalty for use of Undue Influence, Agents/Agency Commission, and Access to Company accounts' of Dassault Aviation were "dropped by the Indian government in the supply protocols".
4) The newspaper has claimed that it has "official documents" that reveal that the then defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in September 2016 "ratified and approved" eight changes in the inter-governmental agreement. One of these changes was about dropping the anti-corruption clause.
This report comes days after the newspaper in another report claimed that the PMO was carrying out "parallel negotiations" with the French side and that that defence ministry had "strongly" objected to this in a note saying this weakens its negotiating powers in the deal.
Meanwhile, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is also likely to submit a crucial report on the purchase of 36 Rafale deal to the Modi government.

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