Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday accused Rahul Gandhi of playing into the hands of Pakistan and China by asking for the price of the Rafale fighter jets and made several claims on the deal that contradict information in the public domain.
He said the agreement between Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, and Reliance existed since February 2012 when the UPA was in power.
The minister also appeared to suggest that the Rafale deal covers more than 36 aircraft, saying: 'Thirty-six will come from there (France), the rest will be made here.' The BJP leader claimed the UPA government's Rafale agreement to buy 126 fighter jets, which the Narendra Modi government had scrapped and replaced with its own deal in 2015, did not include weaponry.
Making these claims at a news conference, Prasad said: 'Today, I will teach Rahul Gandhi. He doesn't do his homework. His party is scared of teaching him. He concocts lies and repeats it. His job is to tell lies and run away.' The Congress has repeatedly questioned the government on the price of the fighter jets in the new deal, which it says is much higher than the UPA-negotiated price, and attacked Modi for the choice of Anil Ambani's Reliance as the offset partner in place of the public sector HAL.
The government has refused to reveal the price and maintained that it had no role in the choice of Reliance.
But on Friday, former French President Francois Hollande said it was the Modi government that had proposed Reliance as the offset partner.
Prasad was fielded on Saturday to defend the government. As soon as his news conference ended, the Congress hit back, daring the minister to show proof of the 2012 Dassault-Reliance agreement if there was one.
'The sycophantic law minister, blinded by his devotion to Modi, indulged in mindless and lawless rhetoric. He doesn't fight elections but his lies and mischief will ensure the Modi government sinks in the next election,' the party's communications chief Randeep Singh Surjewala said. Prasad is a Rajya Sabha MP.
Surjewala said: 'Prasad showed a news report to say a memorandum of understanding existed between Reliance and Dassault since 2012. We dare the government to make all the files public; there was no such agreement at all. On the contrary, there is irrefutable documentary evidence to show Dassault was in negotiation with HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) and signed a work-share agreement.' He continued: 'In Annual Report 2013-14, Dassault CEO Eric Trappier said: `Our main partner is HAL.' On March 25, 2015, Trappier, in the presence of the chief of the Indian Air Force and the HAL chairman, said negotiations with HAL are at a final stage and `contract finalisation and signature would come very soon'. On March 13, 2014, a `work-share agreement' was signed.' Surjewala released the documents to support his claim.
Reacting to Hollande's statement, Prasad said: 'We don't know what are his compulsions.' But Surjewala pointed out that no one had so far contradicted the statement.
The Congress spokesperson rejected as 'utterly false' Prasad's claim that the UPA deal did not cover weaponry.
'The law minister... said the aircraft finalised under UPA didn't have weapons. We were buying it (for a) joyride. This is utterly false, the minister is challenging the credibility, competence and integrity of the Indian Air Force,' he said.
Recalling that the request for proposal issued on August 28, 2007, envisaged full weaponry, avionics and transfer of technology, Surjewala said: 'The IAF had also issued `Air Staff Qualitative Requirements' which were part of the 126-aircraft deal containing India-specific enhancement.' The Congress leader pointed out that the joint statement on April 10, 2015, issued by Hollande and Modi said the aircraft would be 'delivered on the same configuration as decided by the IAF'.
Prasad's claim that apart from the 36 jets to be delivered Ravi Shankar Prasad in flyaway condition, the rest would be made in India drew ridicule.
Surjewala asked: 'Where is the deal for more?' The deal announced in 2015 was for 36 aircraft. Even this month, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman defended buying 36 jets, as opposed to the 126 the UPA was to buy, saying the air force did not have the infrastructure to accomodate more.
Before Prasad made this claim, no one in the government had suggested more than 36 jets were being bought. But the law minister repeatedly said on Saturday: 'Indians will get jobs. Rahul Gandhi does not want employment to be created in India.' Prasad also alleged that the UPA government decided to re-examine the Rafale deal in 2012 because they wanted bribes. 'There was pressure for extraneous considerations,' he said, levelling a new charge.
Prasad's news conference might be faulted on facts, but was high on rhetoric. He said: 'Rahul has called a popular Prime Minister, symbol of integrity and a global leader, a thief. No party president ever used such words for the Prime Minister. We don't expect better from Rahul who lacks ability and occupies that high position only because of dynasty.'
