Rafale scandal: Who is Modi loyal to?
Modi and his men seem to think that it is a huge success and a ‘clean chit’ given to them that an investigation of an alleged scam has been evaded at the outset. Supreme Court has dismissed the petition to probe into Rafale scam under the supervision of court.
Which means, the court has said it would not interfere with the matter and has hence specified its limitations in its jurisdiction. The court’s statement does not come after any investigation carried out by the Supreme Court. And the Team Modi is using it to pull wool over people’s eyes as it always does.
They are using this statement by the Court to defend themselves. They have been telling people that the court has absolved them of all corruption charges and that the court called it a clean deal, or something to that effect.
Many leaders including those from within the BJP and opposition parties have said Rafale Scam is many times bigger than the Bofors scandal. Through this scam, the government tried to axe the chances of HAL which has been bolstering and providing for the nation’s defence needs, and attempted to promote a non-entity in this sector such as Reliance.
This deal was clearly to offer advantage to Ambani family and his business, even at the cost of compromising on national security. These are the charges Modi is facing right now. His statement of palming off the blame of introducing Ambani into the deal was by Dassault Aviation has fallen flat with former President of France Hollande who said India specified the defence partner and they just went with the choice.
Even after all this, Narendra Modi government did not allow an investigation to take place. Bofors is nothing when compared to this Rafale deal which amounts to Rs one lakh crore.
Opposition parties are levelling serious charges that Modi has thrown all caution, policies and legal frameworks to wind to accommodate the interest of his corporate friends and beneficiaries. The Modi government has been issuing conflicting statements about this issue and misguiding the Parliament.
At some point, this government had said the deal was finalized by the UPA government when it was in power. The last UPA government had planned to buy 126 jets to bolster the Airforce from French company Dassault. Congress government which had faced a lot of embarrassment in case of Bofors, had taken enough care to ensure such mistakes do not repeat themselves over here.
Hence it had formed committees of experts to ratify the deals and specific issues. The committees had to submit their recommendations before the deal was finalized. Hence, the scrutiny was close at every stage.
This is how UPA planned to take the Rafale decision before buying 126 fighter jets. But everything turned topsy turvy with Modi government. The agreement that was reached during UPA was to buy jets at a cost of Rs 670 cr per unit, after long discussions that were held in 2012.
According to that, 18 jets would be bought from France and the rest of 108 jets would be assembled at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. And in the meantime when the governments changed, the CEO of Dassault Company came down to India to hold discussions in 2015. He declared the talks were finalized and the agreement was closed to start the work.
But in order to offer profits to a corporate capitalist, PM Modi ignored the defence ministry and finalized the deal with his own specific terms and conditions. HAL was kept out and Reliance, a novice in defence sector, was the new shining partner in this deal.
Modi is credited with meddling with CBI since the office began to show interest in investigating the Rafale deal. The tiff between Alok Verma and Asthana was just a pretext this government needed. Asthana was the central government’s mole in CBI who informed the centre that Verma was interested in probing this deal. Latter was sent on compulsory leave. The centre has been successful in ensuring even the SC sings its tunes. But the SC statement is filled with contradictions.
The verdict says “The price fixing details of jets have been discussed with CAG and the PAC has scrutinized it. Only part of this scrutiny has been published in Parliament and public websites”. But the PAC has already said CAG report has not reached it yet.
Hence, the question arises about whether the SC was misguided and misinformed on the whole thing? Whatever that be, if Modi is honest in his intentions, why should be fear an investigation? Can he not come out unblemished and innocent from all this? It is his duty to regain the trust and faith of the nation. If the SC cannot probe this, this should be handed over to JPC. Since this is the question of country’s safety and security, Modi has to prove whether he is loyal to Reliance or to the country.
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World saw valour, courage of Indian armed forces through Operation Sindoor: President
New Delhi (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said the world saw the valour of Indian armed forces through Operation Sindoor when they destroyed terror camps on the strength of their own resources and asserted that any terror act will be responded with decisive action.
"India has proved that power can be used with responsibility and wisdom. The world has seen the valour and courage of Indian armed forces through Operation Sindoor," Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament, marking the beginning of the Budget Session.
"Our nation, on the strength of our own resources, destroyed terror camps. My government sent a message that any act of terror will be responded to with resolute and decisive action," the President said, amid thumping of desks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other parliamentarians.
Murmu said the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty was part of India's fight against terror.
"We are also working on Mission Sudarshan Chakra to further strengthen national security," the President said, adding that security forces have also taken decisive action against Maoist terror.
Following Operation Sindoor, she said, the trust on Indian defence platforms has increased.
Murmu further said her government was committed to social justice in the country.
In the third term of the government, she said, work is being done to further empower the poor, and social security benefits are available to nearly 95 crore citizens now.
"My government is committed to true social justice," she said, adding that 25 crore Indians moved out of poverty in the last 10 years.
The President also said the government has been successful in tackling corruption and scams, and ensuring proper use of public funds.
"For India, the end of the first 25 years of this century has been filled with several successes, proud achievements and extraordinary experiences. In the last 10-11 years, India has strengthened its foundation in every sector," she said.
Lauding India's celebration of the 350th martyrdom day of the ninth Sikh guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the country's tribute to revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda on his 150th birth anniversary, Murmu said, "when the country remembers the contribution of its ancestors, the new generation gets inspiration, which further speeds up our journey towards Viksit Bharat (Developed India)."
"The country celebrated the 350th Shaheedi Diwas of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. During the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, the entire country paid him tribute and remembered his contribution to the tribal community," the President said.
"The events related to the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel further strengthened the sense of Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat (One India, Best India). The entire country became witness to how Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika's birth anniversary celebrations filled the country with music and a sense of unity," Murmu said.
The President's mention of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme was met with loud protests from the Opposition benches.
Murmu said the VB-G RAM G initiative would provide guarantee for 125 days of work, would stop corruption and leakages, and provide a new impetus to rural development.
The Opposition members raised slogans demanding its rollback, even as the treasury benches thumped their desk in support of the scheme.
The President had to take a brief pause amid opposition cries of "vapas lo" (roll back) against the Act that replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The Opposition parties have been demanding withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of MGNREGA as a rights-based law in its original form, the right to work and the authority of panchayats.
The government has, meanwhile, claimed that the new Act will further strengthen the guarantee for rural employment.
