Yashwant, Shourie say Rafale biggest defence scandal
New Delhi, Aug 8 : Former BJP ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie on Wednesday alleged that the Rafale jet deal was "unilaterally" finalized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by violating mandatory procedures, and this defence scandal was "larger than any thus far."
Activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who addressed the media with the former NDA ministers, said the manner in which the order for Rafale jets was changed made for a "clear case of criminal misconduct". Besides the "gross violation of mandatory procedures," a public sector undertaking was "inexplicably dropped" from the project, he said.
Demanding a time-bound probe by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, they asked the government to come clean on the issue.
"If the Modi government had stuck to the old deal (negotiated by the UPA government), we could have already got 18 aircraft in flyaway condition and production would have started on the rest of 108 in India. But a new deal of 36 aircraft was finalized without due procedure. Ye raat ko ilhaam kahan se aaya (When did this divine revelation come)?" Shourie asked.
"A new deal was finalized without floating any fresh tenders and the public was given to believe that we would get these aircraft in ready-to-fly condition within two years. But the fact is that we will get all the 36 in batches that would complete by mid 2022."
Bhushan said the government was trying to hide behind a secret clause in order to avoid revealing the cost of each jet, but this clause did not actually pertain to prices.
He said as per the prices revealed by Dassault Aviation, the final cost of each aircraft along with weapons, equipment and technology transfer is more than double the rate finalised in the old deal.
Sinha pointed out that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which should have vetted and cleared the deal first, was "nowhere in the picture" when Modi signed the deal in April 2016, and the CCS was seized of the matter around one year after the deal had been signed.
"The CAG should complete the forensic audit of the deal within three months and place its report in the public domain. We cannot hinge our hopes on Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) as the present Lok Sabha is on its last legs and JPC cannot take it up now," Sinha said.
Asked if they would move the court in the matter, Bhushan replied in the negative, citing various reasons, including the judicial climate.
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Ex-Army officer assaulted, robbed at gunpoint by woman he met through matrimonial website
Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.
The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.
According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.
The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.
After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.
"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.
"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.
The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.
After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.
"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.
