BJP ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday supported the Opposition demand in Lok Sabha for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale issue and drew a parallel with the alleged Bofors scam, claiming that people say Rafale aircraft is good but the deal is bad.
Speaking in a discussion on the Rafale issue, Arvind Sawant said the government speaks of transparency, then why it is rejecting the demand for a JPC probe. “We are transparent. Why we should be scared. Our government is good, it is not corrupt, then why should we be scared? Let there be a JPC probe and the truth come out,” he said.
Shiv Sena, a feuding partner of the saffron party, has been attacking the Narendra Modi government over a host of issues, including the Rafale controversy.
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Making a reference to the Bofors deal, which had happened during the period of Rajiv Gandhi government and was marred by allegations of corruption, Sawant said Bofors was a good gun but the deal was bad. Same kind of allegations are being levelled now, he added. “People say Rafale is good (aircraft) but deal is bad,” Sawant said.
{{/usCountry}}Making a reference to the Bofors deal, which had happened during the period of Rajiv Gandhi government and was marred by allegations of corruption, Sawant said Bofors was a good gun but the deal was bad. Same kind of allegations are being levelled now, he added. “People say Rafale is good (aircraft) but deal is bad,” Sawant said.
{{/usCountry}}Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has spoken on the matter but confusion remains, he said, adding that the Supreme Court in its judgement never said there should not be a JPC probe.
In an apparent reference to Anil Ambani’s defence firm, the Sena member also asked why the offset deal was given to a company that “existed only on paper”.