Dassault boss said HAL deal nearly thru

The then Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, too, told reporters that HAL was in the loop

The latest in the Rafale soap opera is a video of the Chairman of Dassault -- the company that manufacturers Rafale -- saying the company's deal with Hindustan Aeronautics to manufacture aircraft in India was almost through. Dassault chief Eric Trappier was speaking on March 25, 2015, in the presence of the IAF and HAL officers.

This was just two weeks before PM Narendra Modi announced the deal in Paris, which strangely excluded the State-run HAL.

Curiously, two days before the new deal was announced, the then Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, too, told reporters that HAL was in the loop.

Jaishankar had said: "In terms of Rafale, my understanding is that there are discussions underway between Dassault, our ministry of defence and the HAL, which is involved in this. These are very technical, detailed discussions. We do not mix up leadership level visits with deep details of ongoing defence contracts. This is on a different track.’’

All these statements are to be seen in the backdrop of the opposition wanting to know why HAL was out despite being part of the negotiations.

The matter has escalated with former President Hollande’s claim that Anil Ambani's company was handpicked as Dassault's offset partner in India as they were given little choice in the matter. He made the comment while denying in an interview any conflict of interest with Reliance, which partly financed a film produced by his partner, Julie Gayet, in 2016.

In an extremely vitiated atmosphere marked by name calling, the Congress on Monday submitted a memorandum to Central Vigilance Commissioner K V Chowdary for instituting a probe into the Rafale deal and lodging of an FIR. It had submitted a similar memorandum to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India seeking a probe into the alleged scam.

In its memorandum, the Congress has said it is the biggest ever case of corruption requiring the CVC’s attention as it involves unilateral purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft from Dassault Aviation, loss to the public exchequer, rampant corruption, conspiracy to bypass public sector HAL, illegal and undue benefit to crony friends, and violation of the mandatory "defence procurement procedure."

Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi continued to fire on all cylinders, dropping the words "Commander-inThief" in a tweet. Over the weekend, the BJP had indulged in similar abuse and came up with hashtags like 'Rahul ka pura khandan chor hai.’

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, referring to the Congress broadside on the Rafale jet deal, said that she would lead a nationwide campaign to "fight the perception battle" with a series of press conferences. "We need to fight the perception battle. Many of us will be speaking across the country. Facts have to come out," Sitharaman said. The minister also targeted Gandhi, saying his allegations had an "international dimension" and would be exposed.