Rafale deal: Modi government’s role should be probed: CPI(M)

Demand for formation of JPC for investigation

The CPI(M) demanded the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the role of the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rafale deal. The party said in a statement that the French Public Prosecution Service (PNF) has ordered an inquiry by a French judge into the multi-billion dollar deal made by the Modi government for the Rafale fighter jets in 2016 and a decision by the financial arm of the PNF. After, the judicial inquiry into the Inter-Governmental Agreement has formally begun on 14 June.

The CPI(M) said official documents related to the deal, uncovered by a French investigative website, show that Dassault Aviation, maker of the Rafale jets and Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group, announced Modi’s new deal and exited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). An agreement was made on March 26, 2015, 15 days before. The party said this confirms the apprehensions raised by the CPI(M) that Prime Minister Modi’s withdrawal from the earlier purchase agreement is related to deep corruption and money laundering. It said, the Politburo reiterates its demand raised in September 2018 for the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate the role of the Prime Minister and the government in the entire episode and establish the veracity of the deal.