Congress leaders demand JPC probe into Rafale deal
Congress on Tuesday reiterated their demand for setting up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the alleged Rafale fighter plane deal.
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was addressing a press conference at the state Congress office in Jaipur on Tuesday, said, “The Rafale fighter plane is a scam and the government is not responding to the questions raised by the Opposition.”
He added that the UPA had inked a deal for the purchase of 126 Rafale aircraft for Rs 526.1crore per aircraft in 2012. “Out of these, 18 aircraft were brought off ‘the shelf’ (ready to use – made in France and in flying condition) and the rest 108 were to be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) – a public sector undertaking by transfer of technology. The HAL entered into a work-share agreement with Dassault Aviation worth ₹36,000crore,” said Hooda.
He said that the NDA led by PM Narendra Modi on April 10, 2015, had announced the decision to buy 36 Rafale aircraft (Rs 1670.70 crore per aircraft) off-the-shelf from Dassault aviation. The price is almost three times than what was negotiated by the UPA.
Demanding JPC probe into the alleged scam, Hooda questioned why the price of the aircraft tripled in a year and what happened to the transfer of technology to India through HAL? Commenting on the political situation in Rajasthan, he said, “The public here is in support of the Congress and the party will form the government in Rajasthan.”
Speaking about a chief ministerial face in Rajasthan, Hooda said the question is not about a face but the situation of farmers and unemployment. “Our party will take a decision at the appropriate time. Our focus is on form- ing the government. People are looking at the Congress and appreciating the work done by the previous Congress government in Rajasthan,” he said.
While speaking about the case filed against Robert Vadra in a land deal, Hooda said, “The BJP is doing such things out of political animosity. Nothing wrong happened during our government and it is the BJP’s frustration behind the act. All allegations are baseless.”
Hooda and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra were booked on Saturday by Haryana Police for alleged irregularities in land deals in Gurugram. An FIR was registered at Kherki Daula police station in Gurugram.
“There has been no land scam under my rule in Haryana. In fact, I have not bought even an inch of land during my working tenure. I got the land I have as a legacy from my father,” he said.
JAIPUR:
: An Indian Air Force fighter plane, MiG-27, crashed near Jaleli Faujdara village, about 20 km from Jodhpur city, on Tuesday. The pilot ejected safely and was later admitted to the military hospital.
The MiG-27 was flown from Jodhpur Air Force Station for a routine training session in the morning. The engine caught fire near Jaleli Faujdara village. The pilot turned the plane towards open fields and auto-ejected himself. An eyewitness said that they saw smoke coming from of a plane in the sky and in some time the burning plane fell on to an open field with a bang. However, there was no loss of life. After receiving information about the accident, two helicopters of the Air Force reached the spot and one took the injured pilot to the military hospital. The villagers were the first to rush to the site. Defence spokesperson Colonel Sombit Ghosh said that a court of inquiry has been ordered. Earlier, on June 13, 2016, a MiG-27 crashed in a residential area in Jodhpur. With inputs from agencies
JODHPUR