The Congress on Tuesday hit out at Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Trappier, who, in an interview with news agency ANI on Tuesday, dismissed Congress president Rahul Gandhi's allegations that he had lied about the details of the Dassault-Reliance Joint Venture (JV) for offset contracts in the Rafale fighter jet deal. The Congress termed the interview as "dictated" and said that "manufactured lies" could not "suppress" the Rafale scam.
Terming it as a fixed match, Congress spokeperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet that the country needed fair investigation in the Rafale deal with France. Rahul Gandhi had also raised the controversy over the Rafale deal at a poll rally in Chhattisgarh.
Surjewala claimed that "mutual beneficiaries and co-accused's statements" did not hold "any value". He asserted that "truth" will be revealed in the matter. "The nation doesn't need 'doctored explanations' but 'fair investigation'! Fixed match between BJP Govt & Dassault and PR Stunts of PM Modi & Eric Trappier can't hide the blatant corruption," he wrote in another tweet.
He was responding to Dassault Aviation CEO’s defence of the contract in a media interview. Trappier has claimed no wrong-doing in the Rs 58,000-crore deal, asserting it was a "clean deal". Trappier also claimed his company chose Reliance as an offset partner.
"Dictated interviews and manufactured lies cannot cover up corruption in the Rafale deal. The first rule of law is mutual beneficiaries and the co-accused's statements holds no value. The second rule is beneficiaries and accused cannot be a judge in their own case. Truth has a way of coming out. Mr Modi, the nation does not want doctored explanations," Surjewala said.
"The fixed match between the BJP and Dassault Aviation will not hide the scam. The PR stunt that Eric Trappier and the Prime Minister Modi are doing will not cover up the layers of corruption in the Rafale deal," he alleged.
Responding to Rahul's accusation that he was lying about the Rafale deal to protect Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trappier said: "I don't lie. In my position as CEO, you don't lie". Trappier said the price of the Rafale in a "flyaway" condition is less expensive in the NDA deal than in the UPA deal. "Price of 36 [aircraft] was exactly the same when you compare with 18 flyaway. 36 is the double of 18, so as far as I was concerned, it should have been double the price. But because it was Government-to-Government, there was some negotiation, I had to decrease [the] price by 9 per cent . The price of Rafale in flyaway condition is less expensive in the 36 contract than the 126 contract", he said.
Trappier told ANI that Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence was just one several companies Dassault was partnering with to carry out its offset obligations.
"We have already settled work and agreement with 30 companies, which represents 40 per cent of total offset obligation as per contract. Reliance is 10 per cent out of the 40, while rest 30 per cent is a direct agreement between these companies and Dassault," Trappier told ANI.
The Centre on Monday informed the Supreme Court that the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) as laid out by the UPA in 2013 was "completely followed" in the procurement of the 36 jets from France and the deal was subsequently approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
Mounting a fresh offensive against the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi tagged a media report with his tweet alleging that the Government has thrown up more "wrong-doings" by Modi in the Rafale deal in its affidavit before the apex court.
Rahul in his latest tweet alleged that Modi has admitted to "theft" in the Rafale deal before the Supreme Court and changes in the contract without asking the IAF.
"Modi ji has admitted to his theft in the Supreme Court. In the affidavit, he admitted to changes in the contract without asking the Air Force and put Rs 30,000 crore in Ambani's pocket.
"The picture is still to come, my friend," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
