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Congress team meets CVC on Rafale deal, demands registration of corruption case
The Congress has launched an offensive against the BJP government over the Rafale deal alleging corruption and violation of rules by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded answers from him.
A delegation of senior Congress leaders met Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) VK Chowdhary on Monday and demanded registration of a case in alleged corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal.
“A delegation of Congress has met with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), submitted a detailed memorandum on the Rafale jet purchase scam. We have demanded CVC to take cognizance, to seize all files and documents and register an FIR,” senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told media after the meeting.
The meeting comes days after a Congress delegation met the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and urged the apex auditor to prepare a report on the alleged irregularities in the deal and present it in Parliament.
In its memorandum, the Congress accused the government of causing loss to the public exchequer and endangering national security by bypassing state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in favour of some businessman “friends” for offset contracts.
Besides Sharma, the delegation comprised senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Kapil Sibal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha, Parmod Tiwari and Pranav Jha.
The Congress has launched an offensive against the BJP government over the Rafale deal, alleging corruption and violation of rules by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded answers from him.
It has also accused the prime minister, the finance minister and the defence minister of “lying on the issue”.
The Rafale controversy took a turn last week after former French president Francois Hollande claimed that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence’s name as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation.
Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighters after holding talks with the then French president Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.
