Govt lied to SC on Rafale; committed contempt of court\, perjury: Cong

Govt lied to SC on Rafale; committed contempt of court, perjury: Cong

Press Trust of India  |  Mumbai 

The on Saturday alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre had misled the over the deal and committed and

It said there was no occasion to "really doubt the decision making process" warranting setting aside of the contract.

Speaking to mediapersons here, said the basis of the court ruling was a report by the (CAG) which has not been seen by anyone, nor has it been shared with Parliament's (PAC).

The apex court said it was ill-equipped to conduct judicial review of issues related to pricing, and this has been the Congress' stand. Hence, the party is demanding a probe by a (JPC), he said.

"The BJP has hoodwinked the nation and cheated the people. Now it has the guts to do the same to mislead the apex court. There is serious misrepresentation of vital, significant facts to the apex court. This amounts to contempt (of court), (breach of) privilege as well as perjury," he claimed.

'Modi' now stands for 'Misleading Of Democratic Institutions', he quipped.

The government has now moved an application before the SC, seeking correction of reference to CAG report, the said.

"If this is true, it means a clear admission by the government that what is reported in para 25 of the judgement is a misrepresentation of facts....the government is saving its skin. How can the SC imagine a CAG report and its vetting by on its own?" Singhvi asked.

He also contested a mention in the SC judgement that relations between Dassault, the manufacturer of Rafale, and Reliance dated back to 2012.

"was set up on March 28, 2015 and Reliance Aerostructure on April 24, 2015. It is during this time that visited on April 10, 2015," he said.

On terming the JPC as a divided political body, Singhvi said the BJP, when in opposition, had demanded a JPC probe many times, including in Bofors, 2G and VVIP helicopter scams.

"This is the worst kind of hypocrisy," he said.

The SC judgement said the material placed before it showed that the Centre disclosed pricing details of the jets to the CAG, and the CAG report was examined by the PAC.

However, PAC and Congress has said he never received any such report.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sat, December 15 2018. 19:50 IST