France concealing facts on Rafale deal: Congress
New Delhi, Sep 22 : After the French government and Dassault Aviation contradicted former President Francois Hollande's claim in choosing Indian industrial partners in the multi-million dollar Rafale jet deal, the Congress on Saturday said the French statement "conceals more than it reveals".
"The French statement conceals more than it reveals. The French government knows verbal interactions between former President Francois Hollande and Indian interlocutors are minuted and would emerge.
"Speculation of French Parliamentary hearing into Rafale and access to administration documents under France's Freedom of Information Law 1978 rife," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari tweeted.
"What French government/corporate entity has just ended up doing is making Rafale procurement a veritable domestic issue in French politics also.
"By saying Hollande is being economical with truth they have set the stage for facts/documents to become a torrent."
Countering the attack, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Minister Ananth Kumar tweeted: "Nailing the lie on its head -- misinformation about Rafale deal, Dassault being called out by the French government."
The statement by the French government issued here late Friday came after Hollande's reported claim that the Indian government suggested a particular private firm for Rafale offset contract.
In response to the claim, the statement said: "The French government is in no manner involved in the choice of Indian industrial partners who have been, are being or will be selected by French companies."
Dassault Aviation, the makers of the Rafale jets, in a statement also on Friday night, said: "This offsets contract is delivered in compliance with the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 regulations. In this framework, and in accordance with the policy of 'Make in India', Dassault Aviation has decided to make a partnership with India's Reliance Group. This is Dassault Aviation's choice."
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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Jamshedpur man among crew of LPG vessel back from West Asia, family heaves sigh of relief
Jamshedpur (PTI): A family in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur heaved a sigh of relief after learning that the Indian-flagged LPG vessel Shivalik, on which their son was working, had safely reached Gujarat's Mundra port after crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in West Asia.
Mithilesh Tripathy said his only son, Ansh Tripathy, who serves as the second engineer on the vessel, was responsible for monitoring the ship's technical operations during the journey through the strategically crucial maritime corridor.
Tripathy said he last spoke to his son over a WhatsApp call about four to five days ago, when the vessel was leaving Qatar.
"They were instructed to maintain a safe distance from the Strait of Hormuz until they received the green signal from headquarters. The Indian government was negotiating with Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage," Tripathy told PTI.
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A former flight engineer with the Indian Air Force, Tripathy later worked at Uranium Corporation of India in Jadugora near Jamshedpur. He now lives in a residential society near Pardih in the city.
Speaking about his son, Tripathy said Ansh completed his schooling in Jamshedpur and Jadugora, pursued mechanical engineering at BIT, and later graduated as a marine engineer from Kochi. He joined the Shipping Corporation of India around 2014-15.
"Before leaving Qatar, Ansh told me they were heading towards the Indian Ocean. That was all he said," he added, noting that he did not discuss the number of crew members on board.
Tripathy said the family remained anxious after hearing about the war in West Asia.
"We were extremely worried about Ansh and the crew members since the war broke out in the region. We were glued to the TV for updates," he said, expressing relief after hearing that the ship had reached Mundra port safely.
"It was a very painful time, but we were confident that if my son and the crew returned safely, it would be due to the efforts of PM Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar," he said.
Tripathy said that while people may hold different views about the tensions in West Asia, his experience in the Air Force helped him understand the realities of operating in a conflict zone.
Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, with 92,712 metric tonnes of LPG, crossed the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday following negotiations between India and Iran.
Shivalik arrived at the Mundra Port on Monday with 46,000 metric tonnes of LPG ordered by Indian Oil Corp Ltd, officials said.
While 20,000 MT will be unloaded at Mundra, 26,000 MT will be unloaded at Mangaluru, they said.
Nanda Devi is scheduled to reach Gujarat's Kandla port on Tuesday, they added.
These two ships were among the 24 ships stranded on the west side of the strait since the war broke out in the region.
Besides the 24 on the west side of the strait, four others were stranded on the east side.
India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of its natural gas and 60 per cent of its LPG needs. Before the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's retaliation, more than half of India's crude imports, about 30 per cent of gas and 85-90 per cent of LPG imports came from West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies.
