Rafale deal: Ambani gets favours; interest of nation ignored
Soon after former President of France Francois Hollande broke his silence over the Rafale deal, leaders of both India and France have been deeply embarrassed. Hollande’s statement has been such a blow to Indian government which had maintained that France decided all the terms and conditions of this deal. Modi government had recently said French company Dassault Aviation had chosen Anil Ambani’s company as their Indian partner and India had no role in this deal. In an interview, Hollande said Ambani’s company was suggested as partner by Indian government and they had no role in choosing an interlocutor. Even after this, the Indian government is attempting to say it is innocent in the matter, claiming there is no need to conduct any investigation in this regard.
The Rafale deal is now said to be the biggest defence scam ever, by the Indian government. This deal costs Rs one lakh crore, and Bofors scam diminishes in comparison to this. Opposition parties are pointing out that PM of a country favoured a particular industrialist, over the national interest at the cost of tax payers’ money. Modi government is giving out contradictory claims in this regard and is misleading the parliament on the whole. At one point, the government even tried to say this deal was finalized during the UPA regime.
Fact remains that UPA government had decided to buy 126 fighter Rafale jets from Dassault company to strengthen the combat power of air force. Congress government had taken enough care to ensure no corruption would take place in this deal since the party has been unable to wash off the Bofors stain from its face since many decades now. Hence it had set up armed forces committees from respective departments to ensure the deal was clean and efficient. It was mandatory to take the opinion and follow the recommendations made by these committees before finalizing the deal. The recommendations made by the committees had to undergo several levels of verification and acceptance by experts and members.
Rafale deal finalized by the UPA government had to pass through all these filters and then 126 jets were to be bought to strengthen six squadrons. UPA government was also striving to build capacities of Indian industries catering to defence sector as well. Long discussions were held in 2012 regarding Rafale deal to be finalized at appropriate prices of jets. Every jet would cost Rs 326 crore as per the deal made by the UPA government. According to that, 18 war planes were to be bought from France and the rest of 108 planes were to be assembled in Public Sector company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Ruling party changed in the meantime after the elections and Modi government continued the talks with France on Rafale deal. The CEO of Dassault came to India in 2015, and said the deal had reached final stages with all talks having reached a conclusive level. But a capitalist PM Modi changed all terms and conditions of this deal, by turning it upside down in a few days’ time to suit his preference.
As per the 'revised agreement', the union government was to buy only 36 jets instead of 126 as finalized by the UPA. And the price had also changed from Rs 670 crore per jet to Rs 1660 crore. Earlier deal had been about buying few units of jets and then the rest would be assembled at HAL so that the PSU could build capacity. But the Modi government did away with this clause and changed it to building all the 36 jets in France.
HAL was clearly set aside, as if mocking Make in India theme floated by the very government, in this deal. Instead of that, Anil Ambani’s new company Reliance Defence Limited was allowed to have a major chunk of this deal and be a partner in this. A joint agreement was signed with Anil Ambani company as well. At the same time, Reliance had entered into a mega film deal payment to be made to Hollande’s partner Julie Gayet.
Modi government defended the deal stating the jets to be supplied to India need special parts and hence the deal was hiked to above Rs 1000 crore per unit. But the committees with defence experts with them have not approved of this deal. Modi government has another version that the jets were needed in shorter time frame and hence the rates had to be changed. But this argument does not make a cut.
Though none of this is acceptable, even after all the changes, the first jet would come to India only in September 2019. ‘Na Khaunga Na Khaane dunga’ was PM Modi’s words. Now with Rafale deal showing his clear favouritism, has this fallen flat? The government has to set up a joint Parliamentary committee to investigate into the matter and conduct an impartial investigation to bring out the truth. With this, the government has to clear the doubts in people’s minds regarding the interest factor of this government.
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Senior-most Afghan diplomat in India resigns following reports of gold smuggling
New Delhi, May 4: Zakia Wardak, the senior-most Afghan diplomat in India, has resigned from her position after reports emerged that she was caught at Mumbai airport last month for allegedly trying to smuggle 25 kg of gold worth Rs 18.6 crore from Dubai.
Wardak had taken charge as the acting ambassador of Afghanistan to New Delhi since late last year after working as the Afghan Consul General in Mumbai for over two years.
In a statement posted on 'X', the Afghan diplomat said she decided to resign in view of numerous personal attacks on her that severely impacted her ability to effectively operate.
She, however, did not mention the reports of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seizing 25 kg of gold from her at the Mumbai airport on April 25.
It is learnt that the DRI did not arrest Wardak as enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
"It is with great regret that I announce my decision to step away from my role at the consulate and embassy of Afghanistan in India, effective May 5," she said.
"Over the past year, I have encountered numerous personal attacks and defamation not only directed towards me but also towards my close family and extended relatives," she said.
Wardak took charge of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi last November after the mission helmed by then ambassador Farid Mamundzay announced its closure.
Mamundzay had moved to the UK.
There was no comment by Indian officials on Wardak's resignation.
"These attacks, which appear to be organised, have severely impacted my ability to effectively operate in my role and have demonstrated the challenges faced by women in Afghan society who strive to modernise and bring positive change amidst ongoing propaganda campaigns," Wardak said in her statement.
She said the "persistent and coordinated" attacks have surpassed a "tolerable threshold".
"While attacks on me and my character were not altogether surprising, as being in public life is something I had prepared myself for, I was unprepared for the toll it took on those close to me. It is not fair to subject them to such unwarranted and horribly unfair experiences," she said.
"The persistent and coordinated nature of these attacks, aimed at defaming my character and undermining my efforts, have surpassed a tolerable threshold," Wardak added.
"It has become increasingly clear that the public narrative is unfairly targeting the only female representative within this system, rather than focusing on constructive assistance and support," she said.
"While it is my passion to serve my country and contribute to positive change, I find it necessary to prioritize my well-being and ability to function in a normal capacity. Therefore, I have made the difficult decision to resign from my current role."
The Afghan diplomat also thanked India for its "unwavering support" during her tenure in the country.
"It has been a great privilege working alongside the people of India for the past three years. I am grateful for the collaborative efforts and shared vision for progress between nations," she said.
