Being on the losing side in the Rafale deal, why can’t India order a probe: Pawan Khera

Pawan Khera said the Rafale deal we have bought an item that costs ₹ 570 crore at ₹ 1,670 crore

Pawan Khera, the national spokesperson of Congress party, on Sunday slammed the Central government for not ordering a probe even when “India was the loser” in the Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

Pawan Khera said that when France benefited and India incurred a loss, the side that gained has demanded an investigation, while the side that suffered a loss to the government coffers has remained silent.

Mr. Pawan Khera made the statement during the party’s briefing.

“When in this deal, France was the gainer & India was the loser – the side which profited has ordered an inquiry, the side which suffered a loss to the public exchequer is quiet,” the national spokesman of Congress said.

He went on to add, “If the three pillars of an Inter-Governmental Agreement have collapsed and one side has launched an investigation, what is stopping the GoI (Government of India) from launching an investigation and accepting our demand of a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe.”

Apart from the national spokesperson, many other big-wigs have already attacked the government over the questions being raised over the Rafale fighter deal.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling the deal as a scam, said that truth can never be silenced. “Truth can’t be silenced. Unlike ‘Modia’. #RafaleScam,” he tweeted.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also pitched the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate the case.

“How did the cost of a Rafale increase from Rs 526 crore earlier to Rs 1600 crore?” he asked.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party made the fighter jet deal a significant campaign issue.

However, after a French investigative website, Mediapart, reported that a judge has been appointed to lead a judicial investigation into suspected “corruption and favouritism” in the 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal, which would cover the tenure of a former French president, the issue has been resurrected politically.