The noise around the Rafale deal

The Congress has accused the Modi government of causing ‘insurmountable loss’ of taxpayers’ money by signing the Rafale deal worth Rs 58,000 crores. It also claimed that the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence Limited had been unfairly picked to be the French firm’s Indian partner.

The Congress alleged that the cost of each aircraft is three times more than what the previous UPA had negotiated with France in 2012. The Indian Air Force has been pushing for this because, Dassault could also help with upgradation of Mirage 2000 H fighter jets.

But what needs to be explained is the urgency behind making an emergency deal, when the previous government had already negotiated a cheaper, better, more comprehensive deal that would have given India many more jet fighters to fill the gap in defense preparedness. The 36 jets which are being procured on an emergency basis will be supplied only by 2019-22.