Rafale deal: Rahul Gandhi unaware of facts, says IAF deputy chief

Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar on Thursday quashed the allegations of any wrongdoing in the Rafale deal signed between India and France. He was of the opinion that allegations made by Congress president Rahul Gandhi do not match with facts at all.

Responding to the queries of reporters, Nambiar stated that allegations on the government made by the Congress chief in connection with the Rs 58,000 crore deal for 36 Rafale jet are false, as he is unaware of the facts. The Congress party has been raining the issue since Monsoon Session and have alleged that the Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done a Rs 58,000 crore scam in purchase of the 36 Rafale Jets from France.

Quashing the allegations and making his statement very clear, the senior Air Force officer said, “This, who are claiming such numbers, I think they are misinformed and probably not aware of the facts that are known to us in the Indian Air Force. As we are the ones who were very much part of the negotiations with the French government. And we have the facts with us.” He further added, “And, I don’t think what is being alleged matches up with facts at all.”

Asked about the cost rise allegations by Congress, Nambiar — who was at an international seminar – 8th Heli Power India – held at the Subruto Park in New Delhi — said, “I can tell you that the Rafale that we have gone for is substantially lower than the price that was on the table in 2008. The facts on record, indicate that there is no truth in those allegations.”

Rahul in his claim had raised the point of cost escalation for fighter jets, but did not disclose the reasons for it. According to the Congress chief, the rate of the Rafale jets rose from Rs 540 cr/jet to Rs 1,600 cr/jet in a tenure of just eight years, leading to a scam of Rs 58,000 crore scam.

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