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New Delhi, Delhi, India
Contradicting Rahul Gandhi's statement in the parliament on Friday that there was no ''secrecy pact'' with France that stopped the centre from coming clean on Rafale jet deal, France today said there was a 2008 security pact between the two countries to protect classified information.
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According to news agecny ANI, France in a statement said that France and India concluded in 2008 a Security agreement, which legally binds the two States to protect the classified information provided by the partner that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France.
''We have noted the statement of Mr Rahul Gandhi before the Indian Parliament. France and India concluded in 2008 a Security agreement, which legally binds the two States to protect the classified information provided by the partner that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France.''
These provisions naturally apply to the IGA concluded on 23 September 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons, the statement added.
The unusual statement was a response to Mr Gandhi's allegation during the no-trust vote that hinted the government had cooked up excuses to hide the information.
Gandhi had told parliament during the debate on the no-trust motion that he had asked visiting French President Emmanuel Macron if his government didn't want the pricing details to be out.
Gandhi has called the deal a scam and challenged the government to come clean on how much was paid for the aircraft. The Congress claims that the price of the fighter jets was higher than what was finalised by the United Progressive Alliance government which had negotiated a deal for 126 aircraft.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who had initially agreed to give the details, later backtracked, pointing that the deal was "classified information" and protected from disclosure under a 2008 pact signed between the two countries.