The BJP is weighed down by the Rafale and Vijay Mallya controversies as it marches towards the 2019 elections
As the election season draws closer, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is firefighting the raging controversy over the Rafale fighter jets and industrialist Vijay Mallya’s escape from the country even as the Indian rupee hits record lows and fuel price soar to record highs. Luckily for the opposition parties, especially the Congress, the multi-million dollar deal is just the ammunition they needed to attack and corner the BJP ahead of the big battle in 2019.
While the Congress has been attacking the BJP over the Rafale deal for many months, it is the recent spate of claims and counterclaims that has made the Indo-French deal the albatross around the neck of the BJP, with many calling it the Bofors of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
While the Congress was long criticising the BJP of corruption and crony capitalism in the Rafale deal, the big twist in the story came following former French President Francois Hollande’s recent interview saying it was the Indian government that suggested a particular private firm (Reliance Defence) for the Rafale offset contract.
This triggered a fresh attack by the Congress and other opposition parties who have long accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of favouring the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence over state-owned HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) in the deal despite the private firm having no prior experience in aerospace manufacturing. HAL had been in the field for 70 years.
To add to the controversy, critics point to the fact that Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group incorporated a defence company just 12 days before Modi announced the new Rafale deal. Ambani had accompanied Modi on his visit to France, resulting in accusations of a breach of confidence and cronyism.
The Defence Ministry, however, continued to maintain that neither the government of India nor the French government had any say in the commercial decision.
Hollande has been quoted in an article by the French website as claiming that the Indian government had asked the French government to nominate Reliance Defence as its India partner in the Rafale jet offset deal.
“We did not have a say in this,” Hollande was quoted by the website as saying. “The Indian government proposed this service group and Dassault negotiated with Ambani.”
Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi said the Rafale deal was doctored “behind closed doors” by Modi.
“The Prime Minister personally negotiated and changed the Rafale deal behind closed doors. Thanks to François Hollande, we now know he personally delivered a deal worth billions of dollars to a bankrupt,” Gandhi said in a tweet.
“The Prime Minister has betrayed India. He has dishonoured the blood of our soldiers,” he added.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the government was putting national security in peril by “hiding facts” of the Rafale fighter jet deal.
“By hiding crucial facts on Rafale deal, is Modi government not endangering national security? Former French President’s statement directly contradicts what Modi government had been saying so far. Can the country be taken for a ride any further?” Kejriwal said.
“Prime Minister, speak the truth. The nation wants to know the truth, whole truth. Everyday, government of India’s statements are being proven untrue. People have started suspecting by now that something fishy has been done [in Rafale deal], else why would the government lie day after day,” the Delhi Chief Minister added.
Joining the attack, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Secretary General Sitaram Yechury, too, demanded that truth on the deal must come out.
“The Modi government has lied and misled Indians. The whole truth must come out now. Why was the Indian government batting for one corporate house with no experience in defence manufacture?” Yechury said.
The Defence Ministry said in a tweet, the French media report was being verified.
“The report referring to former French President Mr Hollande’s statement that government of India insisted upon a particular firm as offset partner for the Dassault Aviation in Rafale is being verified.”
“It is reiterated that neither government of India nor French government had any say in the commercial decision,” it said.
The Congress also accused the Centre of massive irregularities in the deal, alleging that the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
The deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets from France was announced by Modi in 2015 and signed in 2016. The UPA government was earlier negotiating a deal to procure 126 Rafale jets, with 18 to come in flyaway condition and 108 to be manufactured by HAL under licence.
The Narendra Modi government has repeatedly said it was Dassault that chose its India partner for offsets and that the government had no say in the deal.
Meanwhile, the French government and Dassault Aviation have contradicted former President Francois Hollande’s claim in choosing Indian industrial partners in the multi-million dollar Rafale jet deal.
“The French government is in no manner involved in the choice of Indian industrial partners who have been, are being or will be selected by French companies.
“In accordance with India’s acquisition procedure, French companies have the full freedom to choose their Indian partner companies that they consider to be the most relevant, then present for the Indian government’s approval the offset projects that they wish to execute in India with these local partners so as to fulfil their obligations in this regard,” said a statement by the French government. Dassault Aviation, the makers of the Rafale jets, in a statement, also said: “This offsets contract is delivered in compliance with the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 regulations. In this framework, and in accordance with the policy of ‘Make in India’, Dassault Aviation has decided to make a partnership with India’s Reliance Group. This is Dassault Aviation’s choice.”
The Paris-based company said that the partnership between the two giants led to the creation of the “Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL) joint-venture in February 2017.
The deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets from France was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 and signed in 2016.
Another worrying detail recently reported by investigative journalists Karl Laske and Anton Rouget is that Ambani had produced a film for Hollande’s partner, actress Julie Gayet. Ambani allegedly funded Gayet’s film when the deal for 36 fighter jets with Reliance was completed.
The Congress has now moved the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) seeking an FIR as part of its multi-pronged attack on the Rafale deal but the BJP hit back by alleging that the previous UPA government had cancelled the fighter jets deal with France as a company linked to Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra was not accepted as the “middleman”.
While the Congress gave a memorandum to Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) K.V. Chowdary seeking a probe into the “corruption” in the deal, Gandhi launched a virulent attack on Modi saying the country’s “chowkidar” [watchman] had committed “chori” [theft]. In a tweet, he made another veiled attack on Modi, calling him “India’s Commander in Thief.”
The BJP held two press conferences in the day to respond to Congress allegations and launch a counter-tirade.
“The stench of corruption and cronyism in the Rafale deal is nauseating, requiring urgent intervention,” the party said and endorsed former Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) chief T.S. Raju’s call for making public the files relating to HAL’s work-share contract with Dassault.
The Congress also targeted Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying the deal “reeks of a huge scam”.
While both the Defence Ministry and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad have maintained that the Indian government had no role in the choice of the offset partner, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took to social media to reiterate the assertions and pointed to Hollande’s “contrasting remarks”.
If the Rafale deal was not enough of a headache for the BJP, news of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley soon before he fled the country was just the fuel opposition parties needed to reignite the Mallya controversy.
The Congress is now demanding an independent probe into the episode and asked: “Who is the chief architect, protector and benefactor in Vijay Mallya’s escape?”
Surjewala reiterated his party’s demand for sacking Jaitley. “Despite startling revelations about a meeting between Mallya and Jaitley on March 1, 2016, both Modi and Jaitley have maintained “conspiratorial silence.”
The Congress leader said a consortium of banks had met Supreme Court senior advocate Dushyant Dave on February 28, 2016, for advice on the Mallya case. “Dave has gone on record that he advised the SBI management to move the Supreme Court the next day and get Mallya’s passport confiscated. The SBI management and other banks never returned the next day for action against Mallya or for blocking his escape,” said Surjewala.
“Who in the Modi government told the SBI and other banks to not move the Supreme Court?” he asked.
“Why did the banks wait till March 5 that year to move the Supreme Court when Mallya had already escaped on March 2. Does it not prove a sinister conspiracy to help Mallya,” he sought to know.
“Mukul Rohatgi, the then Attorney General and a close Jaitley friend, has also made a startling revelation that Mallya could have been possibly tipped off,” he said.
“After this statement, on what basis can any agency refuse to initiate investigation into the great government-assisted escape of Mallya?” the Congress leader added.
He questioned who was directing the banks not to lodge an FIR against Mallya or not provide the full facts of loan defaults and diversion of funds to investigating agencies.
“If the Prime Minister does not act, it will be proved that the watchman is not only a partner but also guilty,” Surjewala added. Congress President Rahul Gandhi has demanded Finance Minister Arun Jaitely’s resignation after accusing him of colluding with fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya “and giving him a free passage” to flee the country.
At the media conference, party MP P.L. Punia claimed to give an eyewitness account of the meeting between Jaitley and Mallya in the Central Hall of Parliament before the businessman fled the country on March 2, 2016.
“The Finance Minister talks to an absconder [Mallya] and the absconder tells the Finance Minister that I am going to London. The Finance Minister neither told the CBI, the ED or the police, why?
“He was given a free passage to leave the country by the Finance Minister,” said Gandhi and alleged that the logistics of Mallya going out of the country were discussed at the meeting.
“The Finance Minister has colluded with a criminal.”
Punia claimed the meeting between Jaitley and Mallya lasted 15-20 minutes and alleged that Mallya took Jaitley’s permission after holding consultations with him about his planned flight abroad.
“The meeting happened on March 1, 2016, a day after the Union budget was presented. In the Central Hall, initially Mallya and Jaitley were standing and were talking intently. Then they moved to the benches in the Central Hall and were seated and talking,” said Punia.
“Later, on March 3 morning, news appeared that Mallya left the country on March 2. My first reaction was that I had seen them together in Central Hall a day earlier,” said Punia.
The MP said he had referred about the meeting in his interactions with the media.
The BJP hit out by alleging that UPA government gave “sweet deals” to Mallya and that Gandhi family “partially owned the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines through proxy”.
The ruling party rejected the demand for Jaitley’s resignation and instead sought to turn the tables on Congress by asking Rahul Gandhi to quit in view of his involvement in the National Herald case. The Congress, which has been losing ground in the country after successive defeats in Assembly elections, is hoping to halt BJP’s advance with the Rafale deal and Mallya case. Even though the BJP government has faced criticism over intolerance against minorities, lynching incidents and rising unemployment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet ministers have kept their clean image intact.
However, if any dirt from the opposition’s claims of Modi or Jaitley’s involvement in these cases sticks, the image of the BJP will take a serious hit ahead of the 2019 elections. In the maze of claims and counter-claims from all sides, the only way to clear the air will be if the government allows greater transparency in the Rafale deal.
The government must engage with opposition leaders and disclose all information related to the Rafale deal that does not jeopardise national security. If the political slugfest over Rafale continues, its biggest victim will be the defence sector, but the BJP may be its second.
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