Rafale fighter jet deal: Cover-up op by Modi govt exposed again, says Congress

Congress supporters protest over Rafale jets deal. File pic/AFP

The Congress on Tuesday accused the Modi government of conducting an operation to "cover-up" corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal and asked why it did not initiate an investigation into the role of a middleman despite recovering incriminating documents from him. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera also alleged that the BJP government has sacrificed national security, jeopardised the interests of the Indian Air Force and caused loss worth thousands of crores of rupees to the state exchequer.

His remarks came a day after French investigative journal Mediapart, in fresh revelations, said bogus invoices were used that enabled Dassault Aviation to pay at least €7.5 million in secret commissions to a middleman to help it secure the Rafale deal with India. Mediapart has exposed how middleman Sushen Gupta got hold of confidential documents belonging to the Indian Negotiating Team in 2015 from the defence ministry, he said.

The documents detailed the stance of Indian negotiators during the final lap of talks and in particular how they calculated the price of the aircraft. This gave clear advantage to French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation, Khera claimed. "The ‘operation cover-up' by the Modi government to bury the melting pot of corruption, kickbacks and collusion in Rafale deal is once again exposed," he said.

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