Chennai:
Defence Minister Nirmala Sithraman rejected a joint parliamentary committee probe into inter-governmental agreement with France in 2016 to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of Rs 58,000 crore and said that former French president Francois Hollande’s allegations that that the Indian government had recommended Reliance Defence as an offset partner could have an impact on international relations.
“Why should I order a probe. The statement is given in parliament,” the defence minister told a press conference while answering a flurry of questions on the Rafale deal.
This comes in the wake of Congress demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal.
On former French president Francois Hollande’s allegations that that the Indian government had recommended Reliance Defence as an offset partner, Sitharaman said the statement will have an impact on international relations.
She also said that former president is facing an allegation that his associate having received funds for some purpose. “I am not in a position to elaborate on the allegations. In such a situation, he is saying this,” she said.
Hitting out at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, she said that everything the former French president was to say was predicted by the Congress president.
On reports that joint secretary-level officer in the Ministry of Defence objected to the deal's benchmark price and had written a dissent note that was overruled.
Sitharaman said that the same officer was a signatory to the final note on the agreement that was sent to the Cabinet.
Under the UPA's deal, India would get 18 Rafale jets in a fly-away state while the remaining would be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
That deal wasn't completed by the UPA government. “There is now working agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Dassault,” she said.
Under the offset rules, it is for the original equipment manufacturer (Dassault in this case) to decide whom it wants to partner within India for its offset obligations, Sitharaman said.
On the 2016 “surgical strikes”, Sitharaman said such an action will deter Pakistan from training and sending terrorists. “My action will continue at the border irrespective of whether they have learnt a lesson or not,” she said.
On the negotiation on the S-400 air defence systems, she said is at a stage where it can be finalised. “We have a big legacy of buying defence equipment from Russia,” she said.
The S-400 is a military system comprising radars, command post, different types of missiles and launchers that can track several dozen incoming objects simultaneously from hundreds of kilometres away and launch counter-missiles.
Hitting out at the Congress, she said the party was restless because it could not make money. She accused the previous Congress government of negotiating with "brokers" and not buying important equipment required for the defence forces.
"With brokers and dalal they were still buying time, not buying important equipment. But we are buying now and that's where I think the Congress is being restless as they couldn't make money," she said.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sithraman rejected a joint parliamentary committee probe into inter-governmental agreement with France in 2016 to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of Rs 58,000 crore and said that former French president Francois Hollande’s allegations that that the Indian government had recommended Reliance Defence as an offset partner could have an impact on international relations.
“Why should I order a probe. The statement is given in parliament,” the defence minister told a press conference while answering a flurry of questions on the Rafale deal.
This comes in the wake of Congress demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal.
On former French president Francois Hollande’s allegations that that the Indian government had recommended Reliance Defence as an offset partner, Sitharaman said the statement will have an impact on international relations.
She also said that former president is facing an allegation that his associate having received funds for some purpose. “I am not in a position to elaborate on the allegations. In such a situation, he is saying this,” she said.
Hitting out at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, she said that everything the former French president was to say was predicted by the Congress president.
On reports that joint secretary-level officer in the Ministry of Defence objected to the deal's benchmark price and had written a dissent note that was overruled.
Sitharaman said that the same officer was a signatory to the final note on the agreement that was sent to the Cabinet.
Under the UPA's deal, India would get 18 Rafale jets in a fly-away state while the remaining would be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
That deal wasn't completed by the UPA government. “There is now working agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Dassault,” she said.
Under the offset rules, it is for the original equipment manufacturer (Dassault in this case) to decide whom it wants to partner within India for its offset obligations, Sitharaman said.
On the 2016 “surgical strikes”, Sitharaman said such an action will deter Pakistan from training and sending terrorists. “My action will continue at the border irrespective of whether they have learnt a lesson or not,” she said.
On the negotiation on the S-400 air defence systems, she said is at a stage where it can be finalised. “We have a big legacy of buying defence equipment from Russia,” she said.
The S-400 is a military system comprising radars, command post, different types of missiles and launchers that can track several dozen incoming objects simultaneously from hundreds of kilometres away and launch counter-missiles.
Hitting out at the Congress, she said the party was restless because it could not make money. She accused the previous Congress government of negotiating with "brokers" and not buying important equipment required for the defence forces.
"With brokers and dalal they were still buying time, not buying important equipment. But we are buying now and that's where I think the Congress is being restless as they couldn't make money," she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment