Rafale papers stolen from ministry, dismiss review petitions, govt tells SC

Planning criminal action against newspapers who published details of defence deal, says government

Current Affairs: The documents, based on which details of alleged misdoings in the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France were published by newspapers, were stolen from the Ministry of Defence either by current or former employees of the ministry, the central government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

As these documents pertain to defence deals and are covered under the Official Secrets Act, the government is planning to take “criminal action” against the newspapers which published the stories and the petitioner who used it in his petition, Attorney General (AG) K K Venugopal told the court. Since the stories and petitions included top secret defence documents which were stolen, the top court should dismiss the review petitions, AG Venugopal said.

Also Read: Rafale deal: Time to lodge FIR against Modi for corruption, says Congress

The three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, however, rejected this line of argument and sought to know that even if these documents were stolen but proved the point the petitioner was trying to raise, whether the court should consider it or not. It also sought to know if the central government could hide behind the argument of national security when there was a case of corruption…

Click here : Rafale files stolen

Rafale deal: Time to lodge FIR against Modi for corruption, says Congress

The Congress has claimed that the cost of 36 Rafale aircraft finalised by the Modi dispensation was higher than that negotiated by the previous UPA govt.

Current Affairs: The Congress Wednesday sought registration of an FIR against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “corruption” in the Rafale fighter jet deal, with party president Rahul Gandhi claiming that there “is now enough evidence” to prosecute him.

Leading the party’s charge, Gandhi alleged “the trail of corruption” in the Rafale fighter jet deal “begins and ends with” Modi. He also alleged “destruction of evidence” and “obvious cover-up” after the government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that crucial files pertaining to the fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation were “stolen” from the Defence Ministry.

“There is now enough evidence to prosecute the PM in the Rafale Scam. The trail of corruption begins & ends with him. That crucial Rafale files incriminating him are now reported ‘stolen’ by the Govt, is destruction of evidence & an obvious coverup,” he said on Twitter, using the hashtag “FIRagainstCorruptModi”.

The Congress chief’s attack came on a day the government said in the Supreme Court that documents related to the Rafale fighter jet deal have been stolen from the Defence Ministry and threatened The Hindu newspaper with action under the the Official Secrets Act for publishing articles based on them…..

Why Modi govt bought only 36 Rafale jets instead of 126, asks P Chidambaram

The government has compromised national security, said P Chidambaram

Politics News: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday accused the government of compromising national security and asked why did it buy only 36 Rafale fighter jets instead of the 126 required by the Air Force. His comments come in the wake of fresh revelations on the Rafale deal in a media report which claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to buy 36 aircraft instead of the 126 asked for by the Indian Air Force pushed the price of each jet up by 41.42 per cent.

“In the light of new facts and revelations in THE HINDU, the question gains greater urgency: why did the government buy only 36 Rafale aircraft instead of 126 aircraft required by the Air Force?,” Chidambaram asked in a tweet. “The Government has compromised national security by denying to the Air Force the 7 squadrons (126 aircraft) that it desperately needs,” he said.

Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia also took to Twitter to demand answers from Modi on the increased cost of aircraft. “The PM’s unilateral decision to buy 36 Rafales resulted in a price escalation of 41.42% per jet. When will the prime minister answer?” he asked.

Contain By Business Standard