OCTOBER 8, 2018INDIA TODAY 1The dogfight over the purchase of
36 Rafale planes currently domi-
nating public discourse in the
country reminds me of the dic-
tum, ‘Don’t confuse me with facts’. National
leaders are calling each other thieves, liars,
traitors and, of course, corrupt. Even Paki-
stan and the current and a former president
of France have been dragged into the im-
broglio. The two national parties seem to be
like two blindfolded boxers punching in the
air hoping to land a knockout punch. A lot
of half-truths are flying around, with facts
becoming the biggest casualty. In the eye of
the storm is industrialist Anil Ambani.
The controversy is centred around the
Rs 30,000 crore ‘ofsets’ that Dassault and
its associates have to spend with Indian
manufacturers not necessarily related to
the Rafale aircraft as part of the Rs 59,
crore Rafale deal. The allegation is that the
younger Ambani’s joint venture with Das-
sault has been favoured with all of the
Rs 30,000 crore because of his perceived
proximity to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. The suggestion that his company
is getting all of it is not true. There are 72
companies that have been identified by the
French industrial partners in the deal—
Safran, Thales, Dassault Aviation—for
the ofset. Ambani is likely to get a decent
share, but the biggest beneficiary will be the
government organisation DRDO, or the De-
fence Research and Development Organisa-
tion, with an estimated Rs 9,000 crore.
The other big issue is that Ambani has
no track record in defence manufacturing
and has several failed ventures attached to
his name. Most of his group companies are
in poor financial health and laden with a
debt of Rs 1.12 lakh crore as of March 2018.
As if that were not enough, there are
some dubious ‘coincidences’. He incorporat-
ed his defence company only 12 days before
the Rafale deal was announced on April
10, 2015. Raising some more eyebrows was
the fact that his entertainment company
part-financed a film produced by actor Julie
Gayet, partner of former French President
Francois Hollande who signed the Rafale
deal, and issued a press release during Hol-
lande’s visit to India on January 26, 2017.
To make matters worse, Hollande lit a fuse
last week when, in response to a query by
French website Mediapart, he said he hadnothing to do with Ambani being chosen as
an ofset partner for Dassault as it was the
Indian government which had proposed
his name. And the Indian government all
along had been vehemently insisting that it
was Dassault’s decision, not theirs. A flurry
of unconvincing denials ensued, with both
governments saying they had nothing to do
with Dassault’s choice.
Add to this heady cocktail are several
other controversial issues. What is the real
price of the aircraft? Is it cheaper than the
one negotiated by the UPA government six
years ago? Was it fully loaded or not in the
price? Why did we buy 36 aircraft instead of
the 126 in the original UPA contract? Why
was HAL excluded from the deal when it
was there originally? Did the prime minis-
ter short-circuit the purchase procedures of
the government? Our cover story, written
by Executive Editor Sandeep Unnithan, a
defence expert who has written extensively
on the subject, tackles all these prickly ques-
tions to bring some sanity to the debate.
Meanwhile, Rafale has become the basis
of one messy political slugfest although
there is no clear evidence of middlemen or
bribes being paid. There are no Swiss bank
accounts or money trail like the Bofors
scandal. Besides, all these contracts will
come to fruition only in three to five years’
time. Regardless, the Congress party sees a
chink in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
shiny armour of probity and his proud boast
of running a government free of corruption
or crony capitalism. Exactly what candidate
Modi had accused the UPA government of
in the 2014 general election. As the election
season draws upon us, Rahul Gandhi is now
attempting a Modi on Modi. Whether any
of this will stick and become an election is-
sue is an open question. It has definitely put
the BJP on the backfoot.
This kind of mudslinging also does not
bode well for India’s much-needed defence
purchases. Since it’s a government to gov-
ernment agreement on the PM’s initiative,
the best course is transparency. Bring out all
the facts and the rationale in an impartial
manner. Sunlight is the best sanitiser.(Aroon Purie)FROM THEEDITOR-IN-CHIEF
All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of
competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi onlyEDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie
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