Rafale leak: Def Min orders internal enquiry

The Ministry of Defence has ordered an "internal enquiry" into the leak vis-a-vis the Rafale deal, according to information received under Right to Information Act (RTI).

The information was received by Mumbai-based RTI activist under RTI from the Ministry of Defence looking at the "vague responses" filed by the Narendra Modi government in the Supreme Court.

An "internal enquiry" on disclosure of classified official information into public domain and violation of Manual of Security Instructions, being conducted by the Security office of the Defence Ministry.

Galgali had also sought to know whether Prime Minister's Office and defence minister were aware of the stolen files and if yes, then whether a police complaint was filed or not.

Replying to his query, Sushil Kumar, the deputy secretary (Air Acquisition) and CPIO Air Acquisition (Capital) Wing, stated that Ministry of Defense (Security Office) has ordered an internal inquiry on disclosure of classified official information into the public domain.

In his reply dated May 7, 2019, Kumar said, "Ministry of Defense (Security Office) has ordered an internal inquiry on disclosure of classified official information into public
domain and violation of manual of security instructions."

Reacting to the reply, Galgali said, "It possible that matter is sub-judice and therefore government may not have provided full information. But, it is high time that the government must come forward to clean the air to rest assure the citizens of the country about the deal, otherwise people will read so much between the lines."