This Is How Pakistan Became A 'Part' Of Rafale Deal Controversy

The Rafale deal, which later became a ‘controversy’, had fallen through after nearly decade-long negotiations between India and France. After the deal was done and dusted, the Congress had repeatedly alleged that the deal was a "scam" given that the government was not sharing the price of the aircraft.

AFP PHOTO / FILE

NEW DELHI: Back in 2015, when Defence Ministry of India signed a purchase of 36 multirole fighter aircraft from France's Dassault Aviation or later when it became a topic of contention in Indian politics, nobody would have thought that in 2018 Pakistan would also become a 'part' of this controversy. The Rafale deal, which later became a ‘controversy’, had fallen through after nearly decade-long negotiations between India and France. After the deal was done, the Congress had repeatedly alleged that the deal was a "scam" given that the government was not sharing the price of the aircraft. The opposition party had also said that the Centre agreed to buy 36 Rafale aircraft at inflated prices after Prime Minister Modi visited France. The Congress has also raised questions about a deal between a firm owned by Anil Ambani and Dassault, which makes the Rafale. Adding fuel to fire, the controversy took a turn last week after former French president Hollande, who was the Chief Guest at India's Republic Day parade in 2016, claimed that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence's name as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation. The Congress and other opposition parties then latched on to the report and stepped up their attack on the Modi government over the deal. In response, the French government said it was in no manner involved in the choice of Indian industrial partners for the Rafale deal, asserting that French firms have the full freedom to select Indian companies for the contract. Later, the neighbouring country Pakistan also jumped to give its two cents after its Federal Minister for Information’s gave a comment on it. To give a little background, India had called off a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in New York, citing the "brutal" killing of a BSF jawan as well as the release of postal stamps glorifying Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani by Pakistan. To this, Pakistan has alleged the Modi government has cancelled the foreign ministers' level talks with because it wanted to "distract people's attention" from the Rafale deal. In a tweet, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information, Fawad Hussain said "We reject war mongering by ruling elite of India everyone knows Indian Govt strategy is to use hate mongering against Pak basically to bail Pm Modi from call for resignation post French jets Rafael deal and divert attention of Indian public from this mega corruption scandal." As the political warfare on Rafale deal got a new angle, India’s Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad waged a war of words and said Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan and Congress President Rahul Gandhi are using the same language to target Modi. The party drew a parallel between the two saying that both want Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed from Indian politics. It is also alleged by Sambit Patra, BJP spokesperson that Pakistan has been campaigning for Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The Congress later commented back by saying that after the BJP was scared after being caught "red-handed" in the twin-engined delta-winged aircraft controversy, therefore making such bizarre statements and "remembering" Pakistan. Its media in-charge Randeep Surjewala said "Whenever the BJP faces charges of a scam, it remembers Pakistan. The Centre should answer the question posed on the Rafale theft and not incite people.” The delivery of the Rafale jets, which was valued at around Rs.60,000 crore, will commence from September 2019 and is expected to completed by April 2022.