Dassault Aviation will deliver its Rafale fighter jets to India from 2019 and may see new orders in coming months, Chief Executive Eric Trappier told Reuters ahead of the world’s largest business jet show in Orlando on Monday.
India signed a deal with Dassault in 2016 for the transfer of 36 Rafale jets but the deal has since faced criticism from Indian opposition parties who allege wrongdoing in one of the biggest defense deals.
Even on Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenged the BJP-ruled Centre to show him the file of the Rafale deal, in return of his government's 400 files checked by a central committee."I just need to be shown four files, including the one on the Rafale deal, for four days. I will send (them) to jail for life," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief said at the launch of his party's donation campaign here.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi alleged that Modi ensured the offset contract for Anil Ambani, "who owes Rs 45,000 crore to public sector banks".
"The prime minister does not have the courage to reply why the offset contract for the French aircraft was "snatched" from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and instead, given to Ambani's firm," he said.
"The prime minister could not look me in the eye (during debate in Parliament). The PM gives speeches but no answers...he doesn't have the courage to reply as to why the contract was snatched from HAL and given to Anil Ambani." The Modi government has denied allegations of irregularities in Rafale deal and Ambani, too, has dismissed the Congress's allegations that he got any undue benefit.
India had inked an inter-governmental agreement with France in September last year for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore, nearly one- and-half years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the proposal during a visit to Paris. The delivery of the jets is scheduled to begin from September, 2019 The Congress recently raised several questions about the deal, including the rates, and accused the government of compromising national interest and security while promoting "crony capitalism" and causing a loss to the public exchequer.
However, the government has vehemently denied the charges.
With inputs from PTI