Meanwhile, Air Marshall SBP Sinha, who led the negotiations called the ‘article an attempt to malign the negotiation that happened for the procurement of the 36 Rafale jets’. He said that the note was internal matter and had nothing to do with the Indian negotiation team that he headed.
The Defence Ministry had given a dissent note to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) over sovereign guarantee aspect of the negotiations in the Rafale fighter deal but it had nothing to do with pricing issue, the then Defence Secretary G. Mohan Kumar said on Friday.
“It was about sovereign guarantees and general terms and conditions," Kumar told ANI when asked if he remembered the context of the note.
"The context is there in the newspaper. Whatever has been brought out (in the newspaper), it has nothing to do with pricing. Negotiations are not just for pricing but other things also. It was about sovereign guarantees and general terms and conditions,” he elaborated.
Meanwhile, Air Marshall SBP Sinha, who led the negotiations called the ‘article an attempt to malign the negotiation' that happened for the procurement of the 36 Rafale jets’. He said that the note was internal matter and had nothing to do with the Indian negotiation team that he headed.
1. Parrikar reaction
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Government on Friday dismissed a media report that claimed that Defence Ministry officials had raised concerns over the direct involvement of Prime Minister’s Office in the Rafale deal and said that the report failed to publish response of the former minister Manohar Parrikar’s response to the note by the MoD over negotiations over the Rafale deal.
According to the document accessed by ANI, the media report had given half picture of the full story as it did not highlight the file noting of the former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar who had dismissed concerns raised by the officials of his ministry in the Rafale aircraft negotiations saying that the fear was an “over reaction.” He also called for further consultations to clarify any points. A media report published on Friday claimed that the Defence Ministry officials had raised concerns over the direct involvement of prime Minister’s Office in the Rafale deal saying “parallel discussion by the PMO had weakened the negotiating position of MoD and Indian Negotiating Team.”
However, Parrikar in the same file noted at the end: “It appears that PMO and French President office are monitoring the progress of the issue which was an outcome of the summit meeting. Para 5 appears to be an overreaction" Parrikar further tasked Defence Secretary G. Mohan Kumar to resolve the matter in consultation with Principal Secretary to Prime Minister.
2. What Rahul Gandhi said
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Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was directly involved in conducting negotiations with the French side on the Rafale deal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "guilty" in the scam.
It is an open and shut case, Gandhi said, mounting a fresh attack on the government on the fighter jet deal following a media report.
The government can use the law against everyone, including his brother-in-law Robert Vadra and former Union Finance minister P Chidambaram, but must answer questions on the Rafale deal, the Congress chief said.
He was responding to a question on the Enforcement Directorate interrogating his brother-in-law Robert Vadra in a money laundering case and the government's sanction to prosecute former finance Minister P Chidambaram in the INX MEDIA case.
3. Sitharaman in parliament
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Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday dismissed the media report on the Rafale jet deal as "flogging a dead horse" and accused the opposition of playing into the hands of multinational companies and vested interests.
Sitharaman's suo motu statement came in Lok Sabha in the wake of protests by Congress and other opposition over the report which claimed that the Defence Ministry had protested to the PMO the mechanism being adopted for the Rafale deal.
"They are flogging a dead horse. Periodical enquiries by the PMO cannot be construed as interference," the minister said during the Zero Hour.
The Defence Minister charged the opposition with playing into the hands of multinational companies and vested interests and not working in the interests of the Indian Air Force.
Referring to the report, which claimed that the then Defence Secretary had objected to the PMO allegedly conducting price negotiations with the French company, Sitharaman said the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had replied to the letter asking the official to remain "calm" as everything was "alright".
