Dassault CEO rubbishes Rahul Gandhi's charge over Rafale, says 'I don't lie'
New Delhi, Nov 13 (IBNS): Rubbishing Congress president Rahul Gandhi's charge that he provided wrong details of the offset contracts in the Rafale jet deal, Dassault Aviation's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eric Trappier on Tuesday said he doesn't lie, media reports said.
In an interview with ANI, Trappier said as he has been quoted by Bloomberg, "I don't lie. The truth I declared before and the statements I made are true. I don't have a reputation for lying. In my position as CEO, you don't lie."
Trappier replied to the question about Rahul's claim that Dassault had awarded the offset deal to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group. The Congress chief had also alleged that Dassault was trying to protect one person and that is Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rahul had said Dassault had invested Rs. 284 crore in a loss-making company which was promoted by Indian industrialist Anil Ambani. The company used to procure land in Nagpur, the Congress supremo had said.
Trappier also said the Rafale deal under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government is cheaper. He had to reduce the prices despite the number of flyaway jets, which was fixed at 18 by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, was doubled.
"Thirty-six 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 Dassault CEO has been quoted by India Today.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are having a face-off over the Rafale deal (buying of 36 fighter jets by India) ever since former French President Francois Hollande said India had urged France to nominate Indian industrialist Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence Industries as its partner in the Rafale deal.
Though Hollande's claims were denied by the French government, the former stood firm by his statement.
Over the pot boiling issue, Rahul even called Modi a "thief" multiple times.
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