Congress moves CVC over Rafale, wants FIR
New Delhi, Sep 24: Intensifying its battle against the Modi government over the Rafale deal, the Congress on Monday moved the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) seeking a probe and FIR as well as seizure of relevant documents pertaining to the deal which it claimed caused loss to the exchequer.
An 11-member delegation led by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, met CVC K.V. Chowdary and submitted a memorandum asserting that the deal announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at an "escalated price of about 300 per cent" and done in violation of the Defence Procurement Policy (DPP).
The move to the CVC follows the Congress approaching the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for a special and forensic audit. It also comes amidst an intense political dogfight between the Congress and the BJP-led government over the deal.
"This is the biggest defence scam of the century and we have asked the CVC to take cognisance and register a first information report against those guilty," Congress leader Anand Sharma said after the meeting the CVC.
"It is the duty of the CVC to seize all the relevant documents," he said, expressing apprehension that they may be destroyed.
The party also quoted revelations by former French President Francois Hollande in the memorandum, saying he has "exposed the web of corruption".
"Neither the French government nor the Indian government including Defence Ministry and Prime Minister have contradicted the truth of Hollande's assertions," the Congress said, citing Hollande's interview to a French website saying that India "proposed Reliance Defence for the offset contract and the French government didn't have a choice but to accept it.
"In fact, the current French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, has admitted the fact that PM Modi had asked Hollande to give Rs 30,000 crore to Reliance by calling it an ‘observation' in an interview to Radio J of France," the party said annexing a copy of the news clipping in the memorandum.
"Tracks of corruption are getting unravelled by the day with repeated disclosures getting no answers from the Defence Ministry of the day.
"The stench of corruption and cronyism in the Rafale deal is nauseating, requiring urgent intervention by your good self," the party said in the memorandum to the CVC.
It blamed the Modi government for causing a loss to the public exchequer of Rs 41,205 crore.
It said the "deliberate enrichment" of a private entity at the cost of defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for off set contracts worth Rs 30,000 crore and life cycle contract worth Rs 100,000 crore was "stark crony capitalism" that needed to be investigated.
The party sought a probe by the CVC claiming the "nearly 300 per cent cost increase in the price of Rafale aircraft smacked of causing loss to public exchequer in a malicious manner".
The party also mentioned former Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) chief T.S. Raju's claims of the undertaking having signed a work-share contract with Dassault (manufacturer of Rafale jets) and endorsed his demand for making public the files of the agreement.
The Congress also targeted Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for not disclosing the purchase price of the 36 aircraft citing confidentiality.
"Their disclosure is even more intriguing when both Dassault and Reliance have disclosed the price in the Annual Report, 2016, and the press release dated February 16, 2017," it said.
"The entire story weaved by Modi and Sitharaman for non-disclosure of purchase price reeks of a huge scam," the party said, adding that the "shoddy cover-up, the self-defeating assertions and the deliberate lies have exposed the scam which needs to be investigated.
"The government is bound to disclose the price of 36 aircraft to scrutiny by CVC, in light of the serious allegations of corruption and loss of money to public exchequer," the Congress said, urging Chowdary to examine the records threadbare.
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Tension grips Bangladesh after unrest over uprising leader’s death; vandalism at several places
Dhaka (PTI): Bangladesh interim government on Friday urged citizens to resist violence by “a few fringe elements” as the body of a prominent July Uprising leader, who died in Singapore six days after he was shot, reached the capital.
Various parts of the country were rocked Thursday night by attacks and vandalism, including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner's residence in Chattogram, after Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus confirmed Sharif Osman Hadi's death in a televised address to the nation.
There were, however, no reports of fresh violence since Friday morning.
Hadi, one of the leaders who had taken part in the student-led protests last year – termed as July Uprising - and a candidate for the scheduled February 12 general elections, died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital six days after he was shot by unidentified men.
Body of Hadi, who was the spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at around 6 pm on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, amid tight security and widespread public mourning, state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) said quoting Biman General Manager (Public Relations) Boshra Islam.
Members of the Bangladesh Army, Armed Forces Battalion (AFB) and police were deployed in large numbers to maintain security when Hadi's body was taken out of the airport, it added.
Hadi's passing away at the Singapore General Hospital triggered widespread mourning across political circles, activists of Inqilab Mancha and the general public, BSS said.
Yunus has declared a one-day state mourning on Saturday following Hadi's death.
Earlier on Thursday, soon after Yunus' announcement, protesters took to the streets and attacked offices of leading newspapers, vandalised 32 Dhanmandi with hammers, and also demolished an office of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's disbanded Awami League party in Rajshahi city.
Regarded as the centre point of Bangladesh’s pre-independence struggle for autonomy for decades, 32 Dhanmandi was largely demolished with excavators on February 5 this year. It was also set on fire soon after the August 5, 2024 fall of the then Awami League government and Hasina fleeing to India.
Protesters also hurled bricks and stones at the residence of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram at 1:30 am, but failed to cause any damage.
Police responded with tear gas and baton charges, dispersing the crowd and detaining 12 protesters. A few injuries were also reported.
Senior officials assured the assistant high commissioner of enhanced security.
In Dhaka, protesters attacked the office of a leading cultural group, Chhayanaut, and brought out the furniture, setting it on fire.
Sporadic violence was also reported from other parts of the country overnight.
Meanwhile, after the flight from Singapore landed in Dhaka, local media reports and videos shared on social media showed Hadi's followers lining up on both sides of the road from the airport to Shahbagh to receive him before his coffin was brought to the Dhaka University Central Mosque for a public meeting.
In a Facebook post, Inqilab Mancha announced that a janaza will be held in Bangladesh on Saturday after Zuhr prayers (afternoon) at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital.
Hadi was shot in the head last week by masked gunmen as he initiated his election campaign at central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. He died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days.
On Thursday night, the National Citizen Party (NCP), a large offshoot of Students Against Discrimination (SAD) that led the July Uprising, which ousted the Hasina-led government, joined a mourning procession on the Dhaka University campus.
Supporters of the group chanted anti-India slogans alleging that Hadi’s assailants fled to India after committing the murder. They called upon the interim government to close the Indian high commission until they were returned.
“The interim government, until India returns assassins of Hadi Bhai, the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh will remain closed. Now or Never. We are in a war!” said Sarjis Alm, a key leader of NCP.
Starting Thursday through night, a group of people, believed to be part of the protesters, also attacked the offices of Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo’s office and the nearby Daily Star at the capital's Karwan Bazar, near the Shahbagh intersection.
Reports said they vandalised several floors while journalists and staff of the newspaper were trapped inside, and the mob ignited a fire in front of the building.
Critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) strongly condemned the vandalism and said that the Yunus-led interim government will have to shoulder its responsibility.
In his address on Thursday, Yunus vowed to bring those involved in Hadi's brutal murder to justice quickly, saying, “No leniency will be shown” to the killers.
“I sincerely call upon all citizens – keep your patience and restraint,” he said.
“No one can stop the democratic progress of this country through threat, terrorist activities or bloodshed,” he said, adding that the responsibility of realising Hadi's dream lies on the shoulders of the entire.
