The contract to purchase 36 multi-role medium combat Rafale aircraft (MRMCA) from France’s Dassault has run into serious controversy. This admits of a fair and open discussion. It’s not a BJP versus Congress matter, as the ruling party sought to suggest, but one involving national security. It’s a pity though that the government is yet to make a substantive point. All that defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said so far is that procedures were followed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to make his position clear. This is surprising given that the Rs 58,000-crore deal is probably the single most expensive one in our defence history. During his visit to France in April 2015, the Prime Minister suddenly cancelled the proposed UPA-era contract with Dassault for the supply of 126 Rafales for Rs 54,000 crores, of which 18 were to be in flyway condition. The contract was on the brink of signature. The Indian partner was to be public sector Hindustan Aeronautics, which had an old working relationship with Dassault. The deal which Mr Modi inked cut out HAL and introduced private sector company, Reliance Defence Ltd, whose track record in the field is too new to inspire confidence.
Under the UPA-era deal, each aircraft was to cost around Rs 530 crores. In contrast, the deal initiated by Mr Modi is working out to nearly Rs 1,600 crores a piece, more than double the figure indicated by former defence minister Manohar Parrikar. Any other data and explanations should be officially given out for open discussion. The 36 planes to be picked up off-the-shelf in “flyaway condition”, according to Mr Parrikar, were to be delivered in two years. But there is no sign of any planes yet. None of these issues passed through the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). It is to the procedural and price aspects that the Congress sought to draw attention recently, with its vice-president Rahul Gandhi urging the Prime Minister to clarify matters. There has so far been no response. Ironically, it is Mr Ambani who has spoken. He has brazenly argued that under the change in rules effected in June 2016, there was no need for the CCS to clear the country’s biggest defence deal as under the new rules 49 per cent of foreign investment could take place through the “automatic route”.
However, the silence of key players is an affront to Parliament. It is relevant that the earlier contract for 126 Rafales was scrapped without any inter-ministerial consultations. Also, HAL was excluded and a private company brought in without any formal consultation or discussion within the government. In the changed circumstances, Dassault is no longer obliged to transfer technology to India. The question is: Was the rule for Dassault to have a new Indian private sector partner introduced to specifically benefit Reliance Defence Ltd?
