Rafale Deal: A Shameless Silence!
When the country is still struggling with the second wave of the Coronavirus, the government finds itself caught in the Rafale whirlpool yet again.The controversy over the Rafale deal broke out much before the pandemic with several organizations approaching the Supreme Court demanding an investigation into the deal but without any success as the apex court held the view that that ‘there is no need for an investigation.’
The NDA government seems to have considered the Supreme Court’s stand as a clean chit for itself forgetting that there is a difference in saying that there is no need for an investigation and getting an acquittal after prosecution. When the CBI showed some interest in the Rafale deal, the government clipped its wings.. Everyone who demanded an investigation was portrayed as “having no concern for the national security.”
After Modi got elected for the second term, the Congress party also became silent over the Rafale deal. Just when it was assumed that the controversy had died down, it has now resurfaced with the French government ordering a judicial probe into a French company’s role in the alleged deal. This was after a French website published several explosive reports that millions of Euros were exchanged as part of the agreement between the Indian government and the French company, Dassault, and that Indian officials were also bribed. Transparency over the deal pertaining to the purchase of Rafale aircraft is more important to India than France as it could have an impact on India’s defence whereas for France it could only be an issue of financial irregularities.
Though it was the UPA government that laid the foundation for the controversial Rafale deal, it had roped in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the pride of India in the aviation sector, as a partner and the deal provided an opportunity for purchasing a large number of aircrafts at lower prices besides acquiring latest aircraft technologies. But after the Modi government came to power, significant changes were made to the deal including the questionable move of replacing HAL with Reliance that had no prior experience in the defence sector.
Not just that, as a part of the revised agreement, India agreed to pay more for fewer aircrafts. When a whiff of the large-scale irregularities was felt, protests were organized throughout the country with several investigating agencies raising doubts but all such suspicions were stamped down and several important letters of correspondence and documents went missing. In effect, the government put a lot of effort and made sure that no investigation could be carried out and gave itself a clean chit.
Similarly, decades ago, when the Bofors controversy broke out, an investigation was conducted but the investigation refuted Rajiv Gandhi’s involvement and gave him a clean chit. Arun Shourie who was then writing about the Bofors scam had said in a press conference that the Rafale deal is larger in magnitude than Bofors. Regardless of the fact that several journalists and lawyers approached the Supreme Court demanding an investigation into the Rafale deal, Prime Minister Modi should have on his own ordered an investigation. If it did not have any role in the deal, why is the Modi government hesitating to face an investigation? An investigation would not only shut the opposition but also increase Modi government’s credibility. More than anything else, it would resolve the concerns that people have over the nation’s security. Ironically, by not ordering an investigation, it is almost like Modi has in part accepted the allegations.
The French government’s investigation has given a fresh lease of life to the controversy with questions being raised over India’s silence. The Opposition is demanding an immediate investigation by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. When a country that is part of the deal has expressed its suspicion about financial irregularities, how can India that is a party to the deal not be anguished? If financial irregularities have indeed taken place, India has a lot to answer. Even then, why is the country’s “chowkidar” not uttering a word? This is shameless silence. The fact that an international controversy that has national ramifications on the army and defence sectors has not stirred the government to take cognizance of the issue could trigger yet another round of ‘Chowkidhaar Chor” slogans. Before such slogans can reverberate all across the country, the Chowkidhar must speak.
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US vetoes Palestinian bid to gain statehood at the United Nations
United Nations, Apr 19: The US has vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council on the latest Palestinian bid to be granted full membership of the United Nations, an outcome lauded by Israel but criticised by Palestine as “unfair, immoral, and unjustified".
The 15-nation Council voted on a draft resolution Thursday that would have recommended to the 193-member UN General Assembly “that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations.”
The resolution got 12 votes in its favour, with Switzerland and the UK abstaining and the US casting its veto.
To be adopted, the draft resolution required at least nine Council members voting in its favour, with no vetoes by any of its five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Palestinian attempts for recognition as a full member state began in 2011. Palestine is currently a non-member observer state, a status that was granted in November 2012 by the UN General Assembly.
This status allows Palestine to participate in proceedings of the world body but it cannot vote on resolutions. The only other non-member Observer State at the UN is the Holy See, representing the Vatican.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised the US for vetoing what he called a “shameful proposal.”
“The proposal to recognise a Palestinian state, more than 6 months after the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and after the sexual crimes and other atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists was a reward for terrorism”, Katz wrote on X, after the US veto.
US Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs, said in the explanation of the vote at the Security Council meeting on Palestinian membership that Washington continues to strongly support a two-state solution.
“It remains the US view that the most expeditious path toward statehood for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with the support of the United States and other partners,” he said.
“This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgement that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties.”
Wood said there are “unresolved questions” as to whether Palestine meets the criteria to be considered a State.
“We have long called on the Palestinian Authority to undertake necessary reforms to help establish the attributes of readiness for statehood and note that Hamas - a terrorist organisation - is currently exerting power and influence in Gaza, an integral part of the state envisioned in this resolution,” he said, adding that “For these reasons, the United States voted “no” on this Security Council resolution.”
Wood noted that since the October 7 attacks last year against Israel by Hamas, US President Joe Biden has been clear that sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved through a two-state solution, with Israel’s security guaranteed.
"There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish state. There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live in peace and with dignity in a state of their own. And there is no other path that leads to regional integration between Israel and all its Arab neighbours, including Saudi Arabia,” he said.
The Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, sharply criticised the US veto, saying that it was “unfair, immoral, and unjustified, and defies the will of the international community, which strongly supports the State of Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations.”
Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, said that “our right to self-determination has never once been subject to bargaining or negotiation.
“Our right to self-determination is a natural right, a historic right, a legal right. A right to live in our homeland Palestine as an independent state that is free and that is sovereign. Our right to self-determination is inalienable...,” he said.
Getting emotional and choking up as he made the remarks, Mansour said that a majority of the Council members “have risen to the level of this historic moment” and have stood “on the side of justice, freedom and hope.”
He asserted that Palestine’s admission as a full member of the UN is an “investment in peace.”
On April 2, 2024, Palestine again sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requesting that its application for full UN membership be considered again.
For a State to be granted full UN membership, its application must be approved both by the Security Council and the General Assembly, where a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting is required for the State to be admitted as a full member.
Earlier in the day, Guterres, in his remarks to a Council meeting on the Middle East, warned that the region is on a “knife edge”.
“Recent escalations make it even more important to support good-faith efforts to find lasting peace between Israel and a fully independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state,” Guterres said.
“Failure to make progress towards a two-state solution will only increase volatility and risk for hundreds of millions of people across the region, who will continue to live under the constant threat of violence,” he said.
The UN, citing the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that between October 7 last year and April 17, at least 33,899 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 76,664 Palestinians injured. Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 33 children, have been killed in Israel, the vast majority on October 7.
As of April 17, Israeli authorities estimate that 133 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
