Congress leaders to meet CAG seeking probe into Rafale deal
New Delhi, Sep 18: Congress leaders will on Wednesday meet the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to seek a probe into the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets by the Narendra Modi government.
The party has been alleging violation of several defence purchase procedures and a "Rs 41,000-crore loss to the exchequer" in the Rafale deal.
A Congress delegation would meet CAG on Wednesday at 11.15 a.m. Party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Vivek Tankha are expected to be part of the delegation.
The party has held a series of press conferences on the issue, raising several questions on the deal done by the Modi government with France to purchase the fighter jets. The government has, however, denied all the allegations.
The move is seen as an effort by the party to raise the pitch over the issue ahead of the Assembly polls later this year and the parliamentary elections next year.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
