New Delhi, May 31: A replica of the Rafale fighter jet has been erected outside the official residence of India Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa in Lutyens Delhi. What is interesting about the development is that BS Dhanoa’s residence is bang opposite the Congress headquarters.
Earlier, a model of the Sukhoi Su-30 was set up at the same place before being removed a few months ago.
The Congress has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over alleged corruption in a deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.
Facing a dipping number of fighter jets in India, PM Narendra Modi, in 2016, signed an inter-governmental deal with France to purchase “ready-made” 36 Rafale aircraft from Dassault. Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence was selected as an offset partner to the Dassault Aviation.
However, in 2007, the UPA government had made a deal for 10 billion dollars (Rs 68,000 crore) for 126 Rafale jets. Eighteen of these Rafale fighter jets were to be imported in a fly-away condition.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha Elections, The Congress has repeatedly leveled allegations against the BJP government for alleged wrongdoings in the deal and has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of corruption, which the ruling party has outrightly denied. It also demanded an investigation into the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rafale deal.
On December 14, 2018, the Supreme Court had dismissed all petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the deal, saying that there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the deal.
The first Rafale is expected to be handed over to the Indian Air Force in September 2019 but it would be required to undergo intensive 1,500 hours of testing to validate the India Specific Enhancements on it. So, the first batch of the four planes is likely to arrive at Ambala around May 2020.
