"We did not have a say in that. The Indian government proposed this service group, and Dassault negotiated with Ambani. We did not have a choice, we took the interlocutor who was given to us. That's why, on the other hand, this group did not have to give me any thanks for anything. I could not even imagine that there was any connection to a film by Julie Gayet," Hollande said.
Hollande’s reported statement contradicts Indian government’s claim that the agreement between Dassault and Reliance was a commercial pact between two private parties and the government had nothing to do with it.
Hollande's remark is set to escalate the political slugfest over the controversial multi-billion dollar deal.
Responding to the claims, the Defence Ministry said that the report referring to Hollande is being verified and reiterated that neither Indian nor the French government had any say in the deal.
"The report referring to fmr French president Mr. Hollande's statement that GOI insisted upon a particular firm as offset partner for the Dassault Aviation in Rafale is being verified. It is reiterated that neither GoI nor French Govt had any say in the commercial decision. (sic)," Defence Ministry spokesperson tweeted.
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The Congress and other opposition parties latched on to the report and stepped up their attack on the Modi government over the deal.
Reacting to the French media report, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who has been continously attacking Narendra Modi over the purchase of fighter jets from France, said the prime minister "personally negotiated" and "changed the Rafale deal behind closed doors".
"The PM 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 Anil Ambani," Gandhi tweeted.
He said Modi has "betrayed" the country and "dishonoured" the blood of the soldiers.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari tweeted: "President (Former) Francois Hollande should also enlighten us how the price went up from 590 crore in 2012 to 1690 crore in 2015 per Rafale fighter jet? Escalation of a mere 1100 crore. I am sure the Euro equivalent would not be a problem to calculate."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after holding talks with then French President Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris.
The opposition has been accusing the government of chosing Reliance Defence over state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to benefit the private firm though it did not have any experience in the aerospace sector.
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 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.
(With inputs from agencies)