IAF erects Rafale replica outside Air Chief's residence opposite Congress headquarter

The Rafale replica has replaced a Sukhoi SU-30 model.

The Air Chief's official residence is 23, Akbar Road, which is just opposite the main hub of the Congress party. IMAGE: TWITTER/ neeraj_rajput

New Delhi: A replica of the Rafale fighter aircraft was erected outside the official residence of Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa by the Indian Air Force onFriday. The Rafale replica, which replaced a Sukhoi SU-30 model, is attracting huge attention as it has come up right across from the Congress headquarters at 24, Akbar Road. The Air Chief's official residence is 23, Akbar Road, which is just opposite the main hub of the Congress party. The Congress had made the Rafale deal one of its main election issues. The purchase of the Rafale fighter aircrafts by the BJP-led NDA government had erupted into a big political controversy with the opposition, especially Congress President Rahul Gandhi, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of influencing the deal. It is said that the replica is of a fully loaded Rafale model with Meteor & Mica missiles besides prcision-bombs.

#Rafale model outside @IAF_MCC chief BS Dhanoa official residence across @INCIndia hq at Akbar Road in capital pic.twitter.com/J9M6Mdrt8m

— Neeraj Rajput (@neeraj_rajput) May 31, 2019

The first Rafale is expected to be handed over to the Indian Air Force in September 2019 but it would be required to undergo intensive 1,500 hours of testing to validate the India Specific Enhancements on it. So, the first batch of the four planes is likely to arrive at Ambala around May 2020. Air Chief Dhanoa has dubbed the fighter as a "game changer" for the IAF. "IAF is about to get two squadrons of Rafale. Rafale has the capability that no enemy can interfere in the air operations which is a big thing. It will come and change the balance back to us," he had told media in Bathinda earlier this month. In September 2016, India signed a deal with the French government and Dassault Aviation to acquire 36 Rafale fighter jets for over Euro 7.8 billion to arrest the fall of combat squadrons and meet urgent requirements on the eastern and western fronts. The Congress has repeatedly levelled allegations against the BJP government for alleged wrongdoings in the deal and has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of corruption, which the ruling party has out rightly denied. On December 14, 2018, the Supreme Court had dismissed all petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the deal, saying that there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the deal.The top court had then said that it was not its job to go into the issue of pricing. The bench, headed by Justice Gogoi, said that there is no need to conduct an investigation into the details of Rafale pricing. Thereafter petitioners in Rafale fighter jet deal case - Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Prashant Bhushan - in January moved the Supreme Court seeking of the judgment. The petition stated that the verdict contains several errors and also it relies upon patently incorrect claims made by the government in an unsigned note given in a sealed cover to the court, which is a violation of the principle of natural justice. (with agency inputs) WATCH: Rafale replica placed outside Air Chief Marshal's residence in Delhi across Congress HQ