A day after details became public of a letter by Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) Chairman Anil Ambani to the Congress President Rahul Gandhi expressing how he was “personally saddened” by the attacks the latter made in the Rafale fighter jets deal, Rahul mounted yet another offensive on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his corporate connections.
Tweeting a picture of the ADAG Chairman with an accompanying report on his company by the Congress-sponsored National Herald newspaper, Gandhi said: “Mr 56 does love someone after all – 1 (He) Must wear a suit 2. Must have ₹45,000 crore debt. 3. Must have a TEN day old company. 4. Must never have made an aircraft in his life. Rewards of up to $4 billion in “offset” contracts if you fulfil said criteria.”
The fresh offensive came just 24 hours after the media reported a letter the ADAG Chairman had written to Gandhi on December 12, 2017 in which he had refuted allegations of his Reliance Group lacking experience to get the Rafale fighter jet deal and clarified that the BJP-led Centre had no role in the French group Dassault choosing his company as a local partner.
“… Considering that my entire family and I, starting with my respected father, have had the privilege of enjoying a very respectful relationship with the Gandhi family over generations as well as the Congress party for the past more than four decades, these statements have saddened and hurt our sentiments,” Ambani said, adding that not only does his group have the necessary experience also the leaders in several important areas of Defence manufacture.
He said Reliance Defence has the largest shipyard in the private sector at Pipanav in Gujarat and is currently building five Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Indian Navy and 14 Fast Patrol Vessels for the Indian Coast Guard.
However, Gandhi has kept up his attack, saying that the BJP-led Centre is not revealing the details of the “shady deal” which escalated the price of the Rafale fighter jets from ₹520 crore per jet to ₹1,600 crore per jet.
Gandhi said he had met the French President who told him that there was no problem in sharing details relating to the Rafale deal in contrast to the Defence Minister who had cited a secrecy pact as the reason for not sharing details including cost of equipment and weapons.
Privilege motion moved
The Congress has since moved privilege motion in the Lok Sabha against the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for misleading the House about the secrecy pact with the French government on the Rafale deal. The BJP too has moved a privilege motion against Gandhi for misleading the House on the same issue.
India and France have entered into an agreement for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a value of about ₹59,000 crore. The agreement reportedly includes a 50 per cent offset obligation. About 74 per cent of the offsets have to be imported from India, which roughly accounts for direct business worth ₹22,000 crore. The ADAG and Rafale-maker Dassault Aviation have since announced a joint venture that will be a key player in fulfilling the offset contract.