THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first accused in the Rafale scam. In a statement issued here on Saturday, Chennithala said former French President Francois Hollande’s revelation about Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defense proved the Prime Minister has cheated the nation. The revelation, that his government has no say in selecting the Ambani company as the service partner for Rafale jet manufacturer Dassault, also proves the BJP-led NDA government has connived with Ambani putting the nation’s interest at risk.
The defense contract was announced by the Prime Minister during his visit to France in April 2015, leaving the then defense minister Manohar Parikkar flabbergasted, said Chennithala.The decision to go with a smaller purchase and select Reliance as the offset partner instead of the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd can only be seen as quid pro quo deal by Modi with the crony capitalist, he said.The Rafale deal becomes more murkier when one learns that the Ambani company was floated only 12 days before the deal.
He said the contract for technology transfer agreed upon during the UPA regime was summarily scrapped by the Modi government. The present government is answerable to the country as to why the price per unit of Rafale jet was increased from `590 crore to `1,690 crore, said Chennithala.