France’s Rafale probe sparks political row in India
A French investigation into an intergovernmental fighter jet deal with India has triggered a fresh political row in the South Asian country.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was accused by opposition parties of financial irregularities in a 7.8-billion-euro (9.25-billion-dollar) deal involving the acquisition of 3 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force from French company Dassault Aviation.
The main opposition Indian National Congress party and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, had attacked Modi over the issue during national elections in 2019, but pleas for an inquiry were dismissed by the Supreme Court.
French media, including news website Mediapart, reported that a French judge has been appointed to lead a “highly sensitive” judicial probe into alleged “corruption and favouritism” in the 201 deal with India.
The Congress party, which has repeatedly questioned what it claimed was an inflated price for the jets and the choice of defence partner in the agreement, demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the deal.
“The new revelations have substantiated the doubts regarding the dubious deal. A JPC must be immediately constituted to probe the matter,” Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said on Twitter on Sunday. Other Congress leaders said the French move showed there was corruption in the deal and their stand had been vindicated.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed the latest round of attacks over the Rafale jets as “lies” and said Gandhi was being used as a “pawn” by competing defence companies.