Rafale deal: Rahul Gandhi demands probe against PM, calls him 'corrupt man'
New Delhi, Oct 11: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Thursday demanded an investigation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on role in the Rafale deal, alleging that he was a "corrupt man" who helped Anil Ambani pocket Rs 30,000 crore in the purchase of 36 aircraft.
Gandhi's demand for a probe came a day after a report in French publication that said Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale, had to choose Ambani's firm Reliance Defence as its offsets partner in India as a trade-off for getting the deal.
The Congress president did not provide any evidence to back his allegations against the prime minister.
The government has been insisting it had no role in Dassault's choice of Reliance Defence.
The Congress president also described Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's three-day trip to France from Thursday as part of a "huge cover-up" by the government on the Rafale deal.
"Why has suddenly the defence minister rushed to France? What is the emergency?" Gandhi asked at a press conference.
"The reality is the prime minister is corrupt. The prime minister of India is a corrupt man," he said.
Modi came to power on the promise of fighting corruption, the Congress leader said, adding that he wanted to tell the youth of the country that the prime minister was involved in corruption.
On Wednesday, French investigative publication Mediapart, citing an internal document of Dassault Aviation, reported that the aerospace giant was forced to enter into a joint venture with Reliance Defence as part of a trade-off to bag the contract for the 36 Rafale jet deal.
Dassault Aviation said in a statement that it has "freely chosen to make a partnership with India's Reliance Group".
Last month, Mediapart quoted former French president Francois Hollande as saying that France was given "no choice" on selection of the Indian partner for Dassault and the Indian government proposed the name of the Indian company to partner with the French aerospace giant.
The report triggered a massive political row with Congress escalating its attack on the government and the government firmly rejecting the charges.
Both Dassault and Reliance Defence have already announced setting up of a joint venture to manufacture aerospace components and fulfil offset obligations for the Rafale deal.
Under India's offset policy, foreign defence entities are mandated to spend at least 30 per cent of the total contract value in India through procurement of components or setting up of research and development facilities.
The Congress has been alleging massive irregularities in the deal, saying the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating the procurement of 126 Rafale jets.
The opposition parties have alleged Reliance Defence was formed just 12 days before the announcement of the Rafale deal in 2015. Reliance group has rejected the charges.
The Congress has also been demanding answers from the government on why state-run aerospace major HAL was not involved in the deal as finalised during the UPA.
In its reaction following the Mediapart report, Dassault Aviation said, "In compliance with the Indian regulations (Defence Procurement Procedure) and as frequent with such a contract, Dassault Aviation has committed to offsets in India worth 50 per cent of the value of the purchase."
"In order to deliver some of these offsets, Dassault Aviation has decided to create a joint-venture. Dassault Aviation has freely chosen to make a partnership with India's Reliance Group," it said.
The French aerospace major said partnerships have also been signed with other companies such as BTSL, DEFSYS, Kinetic, Mahindra, Maini and SAMTEL.
"Other negotiations are ongoing with a hundred-odd other potential partners," it said.
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Indian vessel 'Jag Laadki' carrying over 80,000 MT crude oil reaches Gujarat's Mundra Port
Ahmedabad, Mar 18 (PTI): Indian-flagged tanker 'Jag Laadki', carrying around 80,886 metric tonnes (MT) of crude oil, arrived at Mundra Port in Gujarat on Wednesday amid the West Asia conflict, officials said.
A day earlier, LPG carrier 'Nanda Devi' arrived at Vadinar port in Gujarat's Devbhumi Dwarka district, carrying 46,500 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) navigating through the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, another vessel - 'Shivalik' - carrying LPG docked at Mundra Port.
Adani Ports, which operates Mundra Port, said in a statement that the crude oil carried by Jag Laadki was sourced from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and loaded at Fujairah Port there.
"Measuring 274.19 metres in length overall and 50.04 metres in beam, the tanker boasts a deadweight tonnage of approximately 164,716 tonnes and a gross tonnage of about 84,735 tonnes," it said.
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The tanker's arrival at the Mundra Port underscores the facility's critical role in handling substantial crude imports, it said.
"This delivery supports major refinery relies on such shipments to maintain operations and bolster India's energy security during supply disruptions in the region," Adani Ports added.
The port provided the safe berthing of the vessel and maritime coordination in safeguarding vital energy lifelines of India, it said.
Fujairah Port in UAE faced drone and missile attacks during the ongoing Israel-US and Iran war.
India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of natural gas and 60 per cent of 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 Middle East 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. While India has partly offset crude supply disruptions by sourcing oil from countries including Russia, gas supplies have been curtailed to industrial users and LPG availability to commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants has been reduced.
