Modi allowed Anil Ambani to steal Rs. 30,000 cr: Rahul on The Hindu's latest Rafale report
New Delhi, Feb 11: Taking a jibe at Narendra Modi over The Hindu's latest report claiming India had made concessions to France in the Rafale deal (buying of 36 fighter jets from France by India), Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister allowed businessman Anil Ambani to steal Rs. 30,000 crore in the deal.
Rahul, who will kick-start his party's campaign trail in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, tweeted, "NoMo anti corruption clause. The Chowkidar himself opened the door to allow Anil Ambani to steal 30,000 Cr. from the IAF."
Days before the signing of the deal, as the newspaper reported, India dropped provisions for anti-corruption penalties and making payments through an escrow account.
The latest report came days after The Hindu furnished a document to claim that the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) held parallel parleys with the French government prompting the Defence Ministry to object to the separate talks.
The Hindu said it has an access to the documents which reveal the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which was chaired by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, "ratified and approved" several changes in the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA), supply protocols, offset contracts and offset schedules.
“Non-inclusion of the Standard DPP Clauses related to ‘Penalty for Undue Influence,’ ‘Agents/Agency Commission’ and ‘Access to Company Accounts’ in the Supply Protocols" is the most important change which has been made, the newspaper stated.
How Anil Ambani is linked?
The Congress had claimed that the central government caused a loss of over Rs. 41000 to the exchequer in connection with the Rafale deal.
The party accused the Centre of endangering the national security by bypassing the HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) in favour of some businessman "friends" for offset contract in the controversial Rafale deal.
Last week after the release of The Hindu's first Rafale report, Rahul said it is clearly evident that the Prime Minister himself was involved in the defence deal so that it benefits industrialist Anil Ambani.
Francois Hollande's claim:
Congress took the matter to the centre stage after former French President Francois Hollande said the India government proposed Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as the India partner for the 36 Rafale jets deal.
Image credit: Congress Twitter
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