Congress, CPM gives adjournment notice in Lok Sabha over Rafale deal

NEW DELHI: Two Members of Parliament from Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) each have given an adjournment notice in Lok Sabha over allegations regarding the Centre's decision to purchase 36 ready-to-fly Rafale jets from French company Dassault Aviation. The notice has been given by CPM MP Mohammed Salim and Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan.

The first four days of Winter Session of Parliament have been washed out over various protests including Rafale deal. The Congress wants the Rafale deal to be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to go into the price arrived at by the BJP government versus the one negotiated by the previous UPA regime. It also wants the JPC to examine how billionaire Anil Ambani's group was selected as an offset partner for the deal.

However, the Centre has refused to set up a JPC on the matter. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said the opposition Congress will prefer disruptions in Parliament over discussion on Rafale during the remainder of the session.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha will also be moving a privilege motion in the Rajya Sabha against Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi for allowing the Centre to present factually wrong affidavit before the Supreme Court in the Rafale deal case. 

"After the Supreme Court has spoken the last word, it gets legitimacy. A political body can never come to a finding contrary to what the Court has said," Jaitley wrote in a Facebook blog, titled 'Rafale - Lies, Shortlived lies and now further lies?'.

On the Congress claiming 'ambiguity' in the Supreme Court judgment that said the deal has been examined by the CAG and is now before Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Jaitley said defence transactions go to the CAG for an audit review, which then are referred to the PAC.

"This was factually and accurately stated by the Government before the Court. The audit review of Rafale is pending before the CAG. All facts are shared with it. When its report is out, it will go to the PAC. Notwithstanding this factually correct statement made, if an ambiguity has emerged in the Court Order, the correct course is for anyone to apply / mention before the Court and have it corrected," he said.

"The CAG review is not relevant to the final findings on procedure, pricing and offset suppliers. But bad losers never accept the truth. Having failed in multiple lies they have now started an innuendo about the Judgement," he said.

Jaitley said Congress, having failed in their initial falsehood, is now "manufacturing further lies about the Judgement." "On facts it lied. The judgement of the Supreme Court conclusively establishes the Congress party's vulnerabilities in a discussion on defence transactions. It will be a great opportunity to remind the nation of the legacy of the Congress Party and its defence acquisitions - a great opportunity indeed for some of us to speak," he wrote.