Rafale deal under scanner

The Central Government has launched an investigation into India’s biggest defence deal to buy 126 fighter jets following a complaint by a Member of Parliament that the shortlisted aircraft— French fighter jet Rafale – was actually not the lowest bidder for the mega deal.

“As the contract negotiating committee is negotiating the price, a parallel probe has been launched to look into the allegations,” Defence Minister A K Antony, facing flak for inaction against alleged corruption in defence deals, said on the sidelines of Defexpo. After a two-year long evaluation and cost analysis, the defence ministry in January zeroed in on French fighter jet Rafale as the lucky winner in the fiercely competitive race among global aviation majors to bag India’s $20billion (about Rs 84,000 crore as per the original tender) deal to buy 126 fighter jets for Indian Air Force.

A month later, TDP Rajya Sabha MP M V Mysura Reddy wrote a letter to Antony seeking an inquiry into the mega defence deal claiming that the process to select the L1 was rigged and the loser – Eurofighter Typhoon – was actually the L1. “The Rafale scam might do the Manmohan government, whatever the Bofors scam did to the Rajiv Gandhi government. I am sure you might want to avoid that syndrome,” he wrote on February 27, 2012. The minister responded to Reddy on February 29, intimating the probe.

“I got a complaint from an MP and ordered a probe, which is going on parallel to the CNC procedure. It will take some time to complete. All complaints will be attended at every stage,” Antony said, adding that CNC would take 6-8 months to complete the price negotiation.

Although the initial contract will be for 126 medium multi-role aircraft, Indian Air Force was likely to place orders for an additional 63 aircraft.