Former Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday said the “intriguing silence” of the Narendra Modi government on the French public prosecution service ordering a probe into the Rafale fighter jets deal points to a “concerted effort to bury the scam”.
In a statement, the former Defence Minister said the Modi government doesn’t have any option but to order a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale deal.
“French Public Prosecution Services has now appointed a judge to investigate the corruption, influence paddling and brazen favouritism in the 36 aircrafts Rafale deal. The prima facie corruption in the Rafale deal is now apparent. The intriguing silence of Modi government points towards mal-intent to hush up the corruption,” Mr. Antony said.
“The refusal of the BJP government to probe and punish the guilty is even more astonishing, pointing towards a concerted effort to bury the scam,” he added.
The veteran Congress leader said the Prime Minister had completely ‘derogated’ the defence procurement procedure (DPP) in April 2015 and his government still doesn't have an explanation for reducing the 126 aircraft (finalised by Congress-led UPA) to the current 36 planes without transfer of technology.
“Why have the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister not come forward to react on the shocking and sensational development of a corruption probe in the Rafale deal by the Public Prosecution Services of France? Can Modi government escape accountability for corruption allegations by its intriguing silence? Is it not the responsibility of the Government to come forward and accept the truth?” asked the former Defence Minister.
In a separate tweet, former party chief Rahul Gandhi targeted the media with a cryptic tweet: “Truth can’t be silenced. Unlike ‘Modia’,” Mr. Gandhi tweeted along with a video of a reporter with Mediapart, the French investigation portal, which claimed that Dassault Aviation didn’t have a choice but was forced to accept Anil Ambani-led Reliance Industries as one of its offset partners by the government of India.