Rs 1.30 lakh crore scandal in Rafale deal: Former minister Jaipal Reddy
Bengaluru, August 30: Former union minister Jaipal Reddy alleged that there was Rs 1.30 lakh crore scandal in Rafale fighter jets purchasing deal.
Speaking to reporters at the KPCC office here on Thursday, Reddy said that during UPA government, an agreement was made to manufacture 108 fighter jets in HAL through technology transfer. HAL company was a pride of the country and Bengaluru. It has provided jobs to more than 30,000 people. As the NDA government led by Narendra Modi scrapped the deal, the country has incurred Rs 41,000 crore loss and around 10,000 employees have become jobless, he said.
On April 8, 2015, the Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued a statement that the dialogue between HAL and French Company related to manufacturing Rafale fighter jets was going on positively. But within two days after this, Modi who had been to France tour, scrapped the deal. Now, the company owned by Anil Ambani and registered on March 28, 2015 got important place in the deal, he alleged.
During UPA period, there was an agreement for 126 Rafale fighter jets. But now, only 36 flights would be purchased. What concerns do they have for the security of the country? Neglecting the efficiency and capacity of the HAL, the NDA government has laid red-carpet to the company which does not have any experience in the defence field and thus, pushed the HAL to the hell, he alleged.
Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who was elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka was an experienced Parliamentarian and she was given the important portfolio. She has given a statement that the fighter flights would be purchased with less than 9 per cent compared to the deal of the UPA regime. But she did not disclose the actual price of the deal, he said.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also not speaking anything about the deal. As to why the central government was hiding the information about the deal from the people of the country? Anil Ambani was acting as a middleman between Narendra Modi and French company, Reddy alleged.
“For Narendra Modi, the Constitution is nothing. No one should question him. He is acting like France dictator Louis-14. The centre is dilly-dallying to constitute Joint House Committee as demanded by AICC president Rahul Gandhi to look into the Rafale deal. Let Finance Minister Arun Jaitley disclose the cost of Rafale fighter jets. When we question, the central government is questioning us. French Company is giving information to France. But Reliance Company and the Central government are hiding the information from the people of the country”, he alleged.
In Telangana, the Congress would come to power in the next Assembly election. The Congress would face the election in collective leadership. The Congress was strong in Telangana and they would win the hearts of the people again, he exuded confidence.
KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao, MLA Byrathi Suresh, KPCC general secretary Ghorpade, spokesperson Suraj Hegde, KPCC media cell head Prof KE Radhakrishna and others were present.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
