The Rafale deal has been a bone of contention and matter of debate as the Congress has been accusing the government of corruption. The Congress president has been trying to politicise the issue and pin a non-existent scam on the PM. The Congress president has been accusing the Modi government of hiding information and helping his friends in the industry.
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This failed attempt in creating a controversy was shot down as it was clearly shown that the UPA government itself had been denying information on the cost of the Rafale jet when it was in power.
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The claim that Modi was helping Ambani and allegation that NDA rejected a cheaper offer from Eurofighter have been debunked in an earlier article. In spite of this, some Congressmen continue their allegations against the Modi government.
The latest figure who has come in defence of Modi government is none other than the French President Emmanuel Macron himself. In an interview to India Today, he has clarified that the deal was well negotiated and he remarked that intergovernmental agreements were normal in a democracy.
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When asked about the truth about the Rafale deal and the price of the jet, Macron said :
I have to say that the negotiation was a win-win approach. Your government according to me made a very good negotiation because it preserved the industrial interest of India, especially the fact that the large part of the production is made there and the industrial interest, interest of people and workers was very much defended by your prime minister. [..]
I am not a part of your domestic political life in India, but I think your interests were definitely well defended by your government from an economic, industrial and strategic point of view.
When asked why the details of the deal could not be revealed the French President said :
You have commercial agreements and obviously, you have competitors. And these competitors are not supposed to know the details of this deal because it is not good for the company itself and for commercial reasons. Every day in our lives, both India and France, we do not reveal information when they are very sensitive to business details. The absence of answer on technical details is because of commercial agreements for the interest of both countries.
The video of the interview can be seen below.
The French President will be in India from March 9-12 on an official visit. The comments made in the interview prior to his visit to India should put the accusations against the Modi government to rest.