Sitharaman lied on Rafale deal, PM compromised national interest: Congress
New Delhi, July 27 : Taking a sharp dig at the Narendra Modi government, the Congress party on Friday accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of "lying" on Reliance Defence Limited, which it said didn't have the experience in manufacturing fighter jets, having secured an offset contract from Dassault Aviation for Rs.30,000 crore and a consequent ‘Lifecycle Cost Contract of Rs. 1 lakh crore in the Rafale deal.
Stressing that national interest was being compromised by the prime minister and the defence minister, Congress demanded that Modi must break his silence and reply to the nation if he represented the interest of private companies and industrial houses.
"Defence Offset Contract went to Reliance Defence Ltd, which had zero experience of manufacturing fighter aircrafts. Reliance Defence Limited had been constituted 12 days before (March 28, 2015) the announcement of purchase of 36 Rafale aircrafts by PM Modi in France on April 10, 2015," alleged Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala citing a ministry of corporate affairs MCA services master data.
The party also alleged that Reliance Aerostructure Limited was given the license to manufacture fighter aircrafts by the Defence Ministry but it did not own any land or building on the date of the license, which is February 22, 2016.
"What is even more surprising is the fact that even Reliance Aerostructure Limited was incorporated on April 24, 2015, which is 14 days after the announcement of purchase of 36 Rafale aircrafts by the prime minister," he added.
"Culture of crony capitalism is the DNA of Modi government. It is truer than ever in case of Rs 60,145 crore Rafale Deal," Surjewala said.
Citing a press release by Reliance Defence Limited and Reliance Infrastructure Investors Presentation, Surjewala said that Reliance Defence Limited claimed "to have secured the offset contract from Dassault Aviation for Rs.30,000 crore and a consequent ‘Lifecycle Cost Contract' of Rs 1 lakh crore over 50 years."
The leader also cited Dassault Aviation's Annual Report of 2016-17 which claimed that ‘offset contract' was being executed by Reliance.
"On the contrary, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has claimed in a PIB press release dated February 7, 2018 that the ‘offset contract has not been awarded by Dassault Aviation," Surjewala said.
The PIB release stated: "No Indian Offset partner for the 2016 deal for 36 Rafale Aircraft has been so far selected by the vendor (DA)...".
Surjewala asked: "Who is lying? Defence Minister or Reliance/Dassault Aviation?"
He further said: "Can Reliance and Dassault Aviation sign an ‘offset contract' of Rs.30,000 crore without the approval of the Defence Minister?"
Surjewala said that "absence of approval for defence offset contract to Reliance Defence Ltd from the Defence Minister and Acquisition Manager of defence ministry and Defence Acquisition Council is in complete violation of contract guidelines."
He said that the public Sector Undertaking, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), had signed a Rs 36,000 crore offset contract in shape of a ‘Workshare Agreement' dated March 13, 2014. "Once Modi unilaterally announced an ‘off-the-shelf' purchase of 36 Rafale aircrafts in April, 2015, HAL was suddenly denied the biggest ever Defence Offset Contract," Surjewala added.
He also said art of deceiving India is the Modi government's mantra in this "mother of all defence deals."
He said that "conspiracy, deception and loss to public exchequer have marred the unilateral purchase of 36 Rafale aircrafts by the government."
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
