Congress rejects Prasad's claims that Dassault signed a contract with Mukesh Ambani
New Delhi, Sep 22 : The Congress on Saturday refuted the claims of Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad that French firm Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale jets, had signed a contract with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited in 2012 to execute the offset contract and described it as "totally false".
"This is totally false and utter rubbish being dished out, unfortunately by Defence Ministry and the Law Minister," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said at a press conference here.
He said that "no such Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was ever signed between Dassault Aviation and Mukesh Ambani's company".
"They have the records. We challenge the Law Minister and Defence Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) to make any such record public. As there is no record, the lies would be exposed," Surjewala said.
Surjewala's remarks came soon after Prasad recounted the history of the deal from 2006 and said there was contemporaneous evidence to show that the choice of offset partner, a Reliance company, was made in 2012 itself during the UPA rule, much before Modi became Prime Minister.
"There is evidence available that a proper MoU existed between Dassault and Reliance industry as early as on February 13, 2013, that means one year, four months before we came to power," he said.
Prasad said the offset clause was finalised by the UPA in 2012 and the choice of the private firm in place of HAL was entirely that of Dassault. "In fact, the UPA had ditched the HAL," he said.
Prasad was reacting to the raging controversy over the 36 fighter deal with France. His remarks came amid media reports of former French President Francois Hollande claiming that the Indian government suggested the private firm for the Rafale offset contract.
The Congress leader attacking the Narendra Modi-led government said, "Truth is that, Dassault Aviation had entered into a work-share arrangement with public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). And it is proved in annual report 2013-14, in which Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault, states that 'our main partner is HAL'."
He claimed that on March 25, 2015 (just 17 days before Modi's announced the purchase of 36 Rafale on April 10, 2015), Dassualt CEO in the presence of Chief of Indian Air Force and HAL Chairman stated that negotiations with HAL were at final stage and contract finalisation and signature would come very soon.
"On March 13, 2014, a work-share agreement was signed between HAL and Dassault Aviation," Surjewala claimed.
The deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets from France was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 and signed in 2016.
The UPA government was earlier negotiating a deal to procure 126 Rafale jets, with 18 to come in flyaway condition and 108 to be manufactured by HAL under licence.
The Modi government has repeatedly said it was Dassault that chose its India partner for offsets and that the government had no say in the deal.
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Karnataka Muslim Convention to be held in Bengaluru on May 16
Muslim organisations to release report on Congress govt’s three-year performance
Bengaluru: Major Muslim organisations and federations in Karnataka have decided to organise a large public convention titled ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’ at Town Hall in Bengaluru on May 16. During the convention, a comprehensive report reviewing the three-year performance of the Congress government under the theme “What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?” will be released.
According to a statement issued on Friday, no politicians will be invited to the convention. The report will be submitted to the government and all MLAs after the event.
The convention is being held at a time when the Congress government is nearing the completion of three years in office on May 20. Muslim organisations have expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that despite extending strong support to the Congress in bringing it to power, the community is being neglected.
The Convention is being organised at time when there are concerns over inadequate political representation for Muslims, alleged neglect of community demands, and the suspension of senior Muslim leaders who had worked for the party for decades.
The organisers said the convention aims to raise questions on what the Congress government has delivered so far and what further steps are expected from the government.
The decision to hold the convention was taken during a meeting held on May 6 at A J International Hotel in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru. Representatives of major Muslim organisations, associations, ulema bodies, federations, and members of the ad hoc committee of Karnataka Rajya Muslim Okkoota attended the meeting.
More than 75 representatives and delegates, including senior ulemas, jamaat leaders, lawyers, retired officials, journalists and members of the KRMO ad hoc committee, participated in the discussions.
Members of the KRMO ad hoc committee’s report preparation team and experts from different sectors presented a detailed report on the Congress government’s three-year performance. The report examined promises made to Muslims on ten major issues, the extent to which they were fulfilled, pending promises, alleged discrimination in representation, and the demands now being placed before the government.
The report covered issues such as the hijab ban, reservation cancellation, hate speech and hate crimes, budget allocation, political representation, waqf matters, the anti-cow slaughter law, anti-conversion law, scholarships and educational grants.
Participants offered suggestions and recommendations on various points, and necessary corrections to the report were accepted after detailed discussions.
The meeting also reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Congress government has treated the Muslim community. Participants are said to have opined that if the government and the Congress party continue in the same manner, the community should keep its political options open.
It was later decided that the report would be officially released at the large public convention on May 16 under the title “Karnataka Muslim Convention – What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?”
The organisers appealed to people from all districts of the state to participate in large numbers and send a strong message to the government and the Congress party through the convention.
They also decided that all organisations, jamaats and associations should work towards ensuring participation from every district in Karnataka.
The statement reiterated that no politicians would be invited to the May 16 convention and that the report on the Congress government’s three-year performance would be submitted to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs after the event.
