By Akhileshwari Anand Raj
The Rafale deal has been widely discussed by various political parties over the past few days. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims that they got a better price than the price that was negotiated by the Indian National Congress (INC), the Opposition questioned the legality of Narendra Modis 2015 speech in France when he had changed the terms of negotiation.
The hue and cry has been about Modi reducing the number of planes ordered from 126 to 36, without appropriate inter-ministerial discussion. Various defence journalists have pointed out that the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was informed about this decision only a few days before Modis trip to France. Other questions were raised regarding the exclusion of Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd. (HAL) from the deal and the removal of the crucial transfer of technology clause.
The UPA deal for fighter jets
In 2007, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government issued a request for proposals for the procurement of Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircrafts (MRCA). Six proposals were received, including the Rafale proposal. This was considered by the Indian Air Force in 2011, which shortlisted the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale. It chose Rafale as the final choice and the governments of India and France begun their negotiations over the prices.
The deal struck by the UPA government was for 126 Rafale fighter jets, with 18 of them to be delivered in flyaway condition. The remaining 108 were to be manufactured in Indias HAL. Congress members claim that the cost was lower in the deal struck by the then government, but the deal was never finalised.
Political claims: Myth or fact?
Surjewal claimed that the deal negotiated by the UPA government was of Rs. 42,000 crore and Sibal stated that India could have gotten 3.5 times the number of fighter jets by paying only Rs 21,000 crore more than what the Modi governments agreement price states.
Congress stated that under their deal, Rafale had agreed to the transfer of technology, whereas under the current agreement there is no such clause. Refuting this, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the transfer of technology would happen as 126 jets were slated to be manufactured in India.
Projected costs: UPA and BJP
The earlier deal factored in additional 3.9 percent inflation indices for the cost of the jets, whereas the current government claims that a fixed cost escalation rate has been applied at 3.5 percent, which has led to the government saving in the process.
The Congress is seeking to bring this up on larger platforms and involve the public in demanding answers from the BJP. The lack of transparency, bypassing of institutional mechanisms and no involvement of ministers in arriving at this decision form the basis of this debate and see no end in sight.
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