PC: Cash ban, Rafale deal to be poll issues

Says govt has not revealed facts on aircraft’s real price

Why is the government shy about revealing the price of aircraft?

— P. Chidambaram,

Cong leader

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister P. Chidambaram said on Saturday that the two most controversial decisions of the Narendra Modi government — the Rafale aircraft deal and demonetisation — would be the main election campaign issues for the Congress since the government has ‘ not come out with facts and figures on the actual price of the aircraft’.

“Why is the government shy about revealing the price of aircraft and taking as a shield the Secrecy Clause, which does not exist,” Mr Chidambaram asked at a press conference in Nagpur. He also said the French government has clearly stated that if the Government of India reveals the prices, they ( France) do not have a problem.

The UPA government, during its tenure, had signed an agreement with the French government to procure 18 Rafale aircraft in a fly- away condition and the remaining 108 with the transfer of technology to Hindustan Aeronautical Company ( HAL) to manufacture the aircraft.

Mr Chidambaram said that, surprisingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a visit, signed another deal at a whopping ` 60,145 crore for the purchase of Rafale aircraft, thereby scrapping the deal signed during UPA regime. The price per aircraft during the UPA tenure was approximately ` 516 crore but jumped to ` 1,670 crore without any justification, the minister claimed.