Defence Ministry objected to PMO's parleys with French govt on Rafale: Report
New Delhi, Feb 8 (IBNS): In the middle of the political fight between the BJP and Congress over the Rafale deal, a The Hindu report on Friday stated the Defence Ministry had protested against PMO's separate parleys with the French government on the controversial deal of buying 36 fighter jets by India.
The report said the Defence Ministry had objected to PMO's parallel talks with the French government.
The Defence Ministry's objection has been quoted by The Hindu, "We may advise PMO that any Officers who are not part of Indian Negotiating Team may refrain from having parallel parlays [parleys] with the officers of French Government,” it suggested that “in case the PMO is not confident about the outcome of negotiations being carried out by the MoD, a revised modality of negotiations to be led by PMO at appropriate level may be adopted in the case.”
Image: Screenshot grab from The Hindu
In the Supreme Court, however, the government had stated a seven-member team headed by the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff conducted the negotiations but did not mention PMO's intervention.
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