Govt placed wrong info before SC that led to 'factual bloomers' in Rafale verdict: Congress
New Delhi, Dec 15: The Congress Saturday charged the government with presenting "wrong facts" before the Supreme Court which led to "factual bloomers" in the Rafale aircraft deal judgment that gave the government relief.
Addressing a press conference here, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said the Supreme Court has not gone into the pricing and technical aspects of the aircraft and it is only a joint parliamentary committee that can probe whether there was any irregularity in the deal.
Sibal pointed to a part of Friday's judgment in which the Court said the material placed before it shows the Centre did not disclose in Parliament the pricing details of the fighter jet but revealed it to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The Court also said the CAG report was even examined by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
Reacting to this, Sibal said Mallikarjun Kharge, the chairman of PAC, has said he never received any such report on Rafale jet.
"Who is responsible for this? It was the government who said this. How did the attorney general pass the affidavit?" he said.
"I call them factual bloomers in the judgment for which the government is responsible, not the Court.
"If you give wrong facts to the Court, and on that basis the government makes a factual assertion, then the government is squarely responsible for it and I think that we need to call the attorney general to the PAC and get these issues clarified as to why they made these assertions before the Court through an affidavit and why such an affidavit was filed which did not reflect the true facts," Sibal said.
He also rebuked the government for not reading its own affidavits.
"This is a very serious matter and there should be an action in this case because the message among people is that CAG has cleared and Parliament has seen the deal, which is wrong," he said.
Sibal said the Court has neither gone into pricing nor into the technical aspects of the deal.
"The Congress party has always said that Supreme Court is not the appropriate forum to decide on issues of corruption, pricing, specifications, crony capitalism in the Rafale case," he said.
Sibal noted that the Court cannot summon and examine all the files notings, examine witnesses on oath, including questioning the prime minister and the defence ministry.
"How can they (the BJP) say that the Supreme Court has given a clean chit to the government. If you (the government) have not given the evidence, nothing, if the cross-examination has not happened then who gave you a clean chit. Only a JPC, which will be formed sooner or later, can probe this," he said.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also hit out at the Modi government on the matter.
"Modi Govt's application in S.C is :
- Admission of guilt of a fraud played upon the court by deliberate submission of a wrong note.
- A lame duck attempt to avoid 'breach of privilege' & 'perjury'.
Proves that #RafaelVerdict is fundamentally flawed! #ModiLiesToSupremeCourt," he said on Twitter.
Earlier Saturday, Kharge said he will request all members of the panel to summon the attorney general and the CAG to ask them when was the public auditor's report tabled in Parliament.
The Congress leader accused the government of "misleading" the Court by presenting wrong information about the CAG report on the Rafale deal and demanded that the government apologise for it.
In relief to the Modi government, the Supreme Court Friday dismissed the pleas challenging the deal between India and France for 36 Rafale jets, saying there was no occasion to "really doubt the decision making process" warranting setting aside of the contract.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi dealt with "three broad areas of concern" raised in the petitions the decision-making process, pricing and the choice of Indian offset partners and said there was no reason for intervention by the court on the "sensitive issue".
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Siddaramaiah, I will abide by Cong high command decision on leadership issue, says Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said both he and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will abide by any decision takeb by the Congress high command on the leadership issue in the state.
Speaking to reporters after returning from Delhi, the Congress state president said, he has full faith in the party leadership and that it would take an approapriate decision at the appropriate time.
The remarks comes amid speculations within the party and political circles about a possible leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, when the results for assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two assembly segments in the Karnataka are announced.
"I will not speak about political issues before the media. I have already said that when the time comes you will get to know. So I will not tell you," Shivakumar said in response to a question on discussions with the Congress high command during his Delhi visit over the last couple of days.
He asserted that there are no issues within the party, and whatever has been already decided will take place accordingly.
Responding to a question on senior Minister Satish Jarkiholi's reported statement about internal differences, the Deputy CM said, "nothing like that, they (high command) will do what they have to do at the appropriate time."
"There are no issues, we have faith in our party, they will do what they have to," he added.
Asked about the issue of leadership change as the government is about to complete three years in office, Shivakumar said, "... I have never discussed this issue. The CM and I have both said that we will accept whatever and whenever the high command decides, and we will abide by it."
He declined to comment when asked whether any "good news" can be expected by his birthday on May 15.
The leadership tussle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculation about a possible change of chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, 2025. The speculation has been fuelled by the reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the time of government formation in 2023.
Responding to a question on the BJP's criticism against the Congress government over its decision on internal reservation for Scheduled Castes, alleging injustice to several communities and questioning its intent behind the revised quota formula, Shivakumar said the BJP could not do anything on internal reservation while in power, but the Congress has kept its promise.
"We have found a solution and tried to do justice to all sections among SCs. We have fulfilled the promise made and every one should go together," he said.
Shivakumar warned his party workers against erecting flex banners for his birthday on May 15.
"For May 15, I want to tell everyone that no one should put up flex banners or advertisements for my birthday. If flex are installed I will ensure that cases are registered by authorities against those responsible, whether they are party workers or followers....no one should put such things on roads, this is my personal request," he said, adding that he has asked commissioners of the city corporations to register cases and impose heavy fines.
