Congress Party is to move a privilege motion in Lok Sabha on the Rafale issue. Whether it will be against Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is something party leadership will decide, said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. However, the party has not ruled out moving the motion against both.
“There is nothing in the defence agreement that doesn’t allow the government to reveal the price,” said former Defence Minister A.K. Antony. He asserted that he had revealed the value of many deals, including the one on the French-built Mirage aircraft.
Speaking on the issue, another Congress leader Anand Sharma said that nowhere in the Confidentiality Clause commercial pricing is barred from sharing. Secrecy Clause only exists for operational and security aspect, he added. He also said that even the French company under French law will have to submit all aspects of commercial pricing to the French government.
Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Mallikarjun Kharge said the party would bring a privilege motion, but it was yet to decide if it would be only against the Defence Minister or Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress said that the fact that a company which has no experience in this sector was involved also raised questions. At the beginning of the negotiations Rafale was pegged at 620 crores and when purchased off the shelf, however, the price went up to 1600 crores, he said.
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