New Delhi: Raising questions on the deal on Rafale fighter jets signed yesterday with regard to the price of the fighter jets, the quantity and the conditions agreed upon, the Congress today demanded that the Government come out with the details of the final contract. Addressing a joint press conference with AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari, senior Congress leader and former Defence Minister A K Antony said the 36 fighter jets that the Government had agreed to buy would prove insufficient for the forces.
Mr Antony and Mr Tewari also raised questions on the price negotiated for the fighter jets as well as the conditions agreed to in the present contract. Contending that the 36 fighter jets that the Government had agreed to buy would prove insufficient for the forces, Mr Antony said,''during UPA's time it was decided to purchase 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft to meet urgent op requirement of the Air Force. As per the Indian Air Force these 126 was the minimum for their urgent operational requirements considering the security scenario.
Now, the Government finally decided to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets. Is it enough? The sanctioned strength of IAF is 42 squadrons whereas the availability is 32. Of late the security scenario has become more and more critical and volatile.'' ''Actually, now the Air Force needs more strength. By 2022, this strength will be reduced to 25 squadrons. How will the Government equip the IAF with more aircraft. What is their plan? How will they bridge the gap with respect to China and Pakistan, who are building up their Air strength?''
Parrikar insists the Rafale deal clinched at much lesser price
Even as the Congress today raised several questions over the Rafale fighter deal, including on its "high cost", Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar insisted that the Narendra Modi Government concluded the contract at a much lesser price than the earlier quoted by the French side. The Congress fielded former defence minister AK Antony to launch a scathing attack on the government for signing the deal, which, he said, cannot be compared with what was being negotiated during the UPA rule.
On the other hand, Mr Parrikar said it was win-win deal for India. “In any foreign deal, there are 3-4 things that have to be taken care of. First is the cost, which we have negotiated at a much lesser price than the earlier price being quoted by the French team," Mr Parrikar said, in his first interview to Defence Aviation Post, after signing the deal. The 7.878 billion Euros deal for 36 fighters was inked yesterday by Mr Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian. The Defence Minister said the percentage of offsets which in this case is 50 percent, was much higher than any other foreign military sales so far.
"This creates a huge potential for the aviation industry and is in line with the Prime Minister’s Make in India initiative,' he said. Mr Parrikar said the most significant feature of this contract are the enhancements for India ,which even French aircraft do not have. He said these fighter jets come along with state-of-the-art missile weaponry profile that increases the strike capabilities of the IAF to a great extent. It includes Meteor Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile with a range in excess of 150 kms.
Then it also comes along with Scalp which is a long range air to surface cruise missile with a range of over 300 kms. "So from all directions it is a win-win deal for India. Rafale is a potent aircraft and will add to the capability of the IAF,' the Defence Minister said. (UNI)