Rafale deal: Congress to move privilege motion against PM, Nirmala Sitharaman

Congress Party to move a privilege motion in Lok Sabha on the Rafale issue. Whether it will be against Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is something party leadership will decide, said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. However, the party has not ruled out moving the motion against both.

Congress also accused the government of misleading the Parliament on Rafale deal and said that government has been issuing contradictory statementson the issue.

Former Defence Minister AK Antony alleged that as per the Constitution the government will need to explain the price jump as all the details ultimately will have to be shared with Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) of India which in turn would be scrutinised by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

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Speaking on the issue, another Congress leader Anand Sharma said that nowhere in the Confidentiality Clause commercial pricing is barred from sharing. Secrecy Clause only exists for operational and security aspect, he added. He also said that even the French company under French law will have to submit all aspects of commercial pricing to the French government.

Congress also alleged that the decision to purchase 36 Rafale aircraft off the shelf was arbitrary and Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had not met. Anand Sharma said that an agreement existed before the purchase and the CCS approval was post facto.

" PM should put this on record in both houses of the Parliament whether CCS met before he left for France, " said Anand Sharma.

Congress said that the fact that a company has no experience in this sector was involved also raised questions. At the beginning of the negotiations Rafale was pegged at 620 crore and when purchased off the shelf, however,the price went up to 1600 crore, he said.