Shocking that PMO was holding "parallel negotiations" on Rafale: A K Antony
New Delhi, Feb 8: Former defence minister A K Antony claimed Friday it was "shocking" that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was conducting parallel negotiations on the Rafale deal and alleged it had "special interests to protect".
"This is shocking to me. In the defence negotiations, only the Defence Ministry is involved," the senior Congress leader told reporters outside Parliament.
"Never in the history of Government of India it has happened like that. What is the special interest of the PMO?... Why did the PMO take such a special interest in this case? They have special interests to protect. They want to favour somebody," he alleged.
Antony was reacting to a report published by The Hindu newspaper on Friday that the Defence Ministry raised strong objections to "parallel discussions" conducted by the PMO during the negotiations over the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale deal between India and France.
"Some serious thing is wrong there. Otherwise, the PMO has no role in price negotiations. It is the duty entirely of the Defence Ministry and armed forces. Only they do these kind of negotiations," Antony said.
He added that the government should immediately accede to the opposition's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and the latter should meet and go through all the records. He also claimed that "the PMO has something to hide".
Congress leader Anand Sharma demanded that a JPC be formed to look into the deal.
"Not only should a JPC be formed, but it should submit its report before the general elections, even if it has to sit everyday. The country has suffered a great loss...Not one aircraft has come to India and this is for the first time in history that the process of defence acquisition has been bypassed and a parallel negotiation has taken place," he alleged.
Sharma claimed that the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar was in the know of the deal.
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Philippines president declares national energy emergency amid global fuel supply risks
Manila: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has declared a national energy emergency, citing the “imminent danger” to the country’s fuel supply due to global disruptions linked to the ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran, Al Jazeera reported.
“The declaration of a state of national energy emergency will enable the government… to implement responsive and coordinated measures under existing laws to address the risks posed by disruptions in the global energy supply and the domestic economy,” Al Jazeera quoted Marcos Jr as saying.
As part of the emergency response, a committee has been formed to ensure the orderly movement, supply, distribution and availability of fuel, food, medicine, agricultural products and other essential goods, he said.
The emergency declaration, which will remain in force for one year, allows the government to procure fuel in advance and take action against hoarding and profiteering.
Authorities are also empowered to take action against the hoarding, profiteering and manipulation of petroleum product supplies.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the country currently has about 45 days of fuel supply based on current consumption. She added that the government is working to procure 1 million barrels of oil from countries within and outside Southeast Asia to build a buffer stock, though uncertainties remain.
Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said the government is in talks with Washington to secure exemptions that would allow for the purchase of oil from countries under US sanctions.
The announcement comes amid rising public discontent. Transport workers, commuters, and consumer groups have planned a two-day strike to protest fuel price hikes and what they call inadequate government response.
Piston, a federation of public transport associations, described the declaration of a national energy emergency as a “superficial band-aid that deliberately ignores the structural roots of the fuel crisis”.
“If the government genuinely intends to protect transport workers and commuters from this geopolitical crisis, it would immediately suspend the Excise Tax and Value-Added Tax on petroleum products to drastically lower prices overnight,” Al Jazeera quoted Piston as saying.
Renato Reyes Jr, of the progressive civil society coalition Bayan, said the declaration “does not address the basic problem of runaway oil prices and [their] effects on the mass transport system and other sectors in the country”.
As part of the government’s mitigation measures, students and workers in some cities are being given free access to bus rides, and the government has started to provide a 5,000 peso subsidy for public transport workers, including motorcycle taxi drivers, to help them cope with rising fuel costs.
