New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Defence, Subhash Bhamre on Thursday said that Congress party’s allegation on the Rafale deal a “manufactured one” while adding that it was during the Congress rule that numerous scams were unfolded.
Speaking to media, Bhamre said: “Don’t try to fool people as they are educated enough. There have been numerous scams during the Congress rule and the Modi government made sure that there were no big scams in these last years. That is the biggest reason for their frustration. This is a manufactured and a baseless allegation, which is harming the country massively.”
Bhamre further took a potshot at the Congress saying that the party deliberately disregarded the operational needs of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and left it in a lurch.
“The Congress did nothing during its rule to address the operational needs of the Air Force. How can the party claim that the jets are costlier when, they themselves, did not sign a proper deal? In case, a war breaks out on both the fronts, we need a strength of 42 squadrons. But, we are left with 33 squadrons. What stopped them for so long to address the issue?” Bhamre asked.
He further said that the Centre’s decision to not disclose the deal is justifiable as it has been done to “safeguard the nation’s security and to not let it fall in the hands of the secret agencies operating from across the border”.
“The base price of the Rafale jets have been shared not only once but many times. The basic price of the Rafale, however, is less than the base price decided during the UPA rule. Whenever we purchase an aircraft, many things have to take into consideration. So, if we telling all those things before the media, then the enemies across the border will no longer need to field their secret agencies and also for the purpose of the country’s security, these things cannot be shared. It was an inter-governmental deal and all transparent procedures have been followed,” the minister added.
The Congress has been alleging irregularities in the deal signed between India and France in 2016 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi government to buy 36 Rafale jets. The party alleged that the Modi government has been procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2012.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]