Congress President while speaking during the no-confidence motion debate against the Narendra Modi led government accused the Modi government of indulging in a ‘scam’ in the Rafale deal. He said that there was no confidentiality clause which barred the government from discussing the terms and the price of the Rafale jets. Gandhi claimed that when he met the French President Macron in Delhi, Macron told him that there is no secrecy pact between the two countries. Even Congress MP Shashi Tharoor ended up lying and misinterpreting a report in English, a language he usually excels in.
However, all the allegations fell flat on Congress President when the French Government issued a statement which proved that Rahul Gandhi lied on the floor of the Parliament.
that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France. These provisions naturally apply to the IGA concluded on 23 September 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons: France statement 2/2 https://t.co/vhHhAi9fMi
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2018
In the statement, the French Government states that the secrecy pact was signed in 2008 (during UPA regime, AK Antony being the defence minister) which legally bound both the countries to protect classified information. These provisions also apply to the deal of 36 Rafale aircrafts and their weapons which was signed on 23rd September, 2016. The statement further states that President Macron had indicated publicly in an interview to a news channel, India Today on 9th March, 2018 that the deal is very sensitive and he cannot reveal details.
