Congress submits memorandum on Rafale deal to CVC, seeks FIR

Congress has accused the government of causing loss to the public exchequer and endangering national security by bypassing HAL in favour of some businessman "friends" for offset contract.

NEW DELHI: A delegation of senior Congress leaders on Monday met the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) KV Chowdary seeking an FIR in connection with the alleged corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal.

"A delegation of Congress has met with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and submitted a detailed memorandum on Rafale jet purchase scam. We have demanded CVC to take cognizance, to seize all files and documents and register an FIR," Congress leader Anand Sharma said after the meeting. 

In the memorandum submitted to the CVC, the Congress has accused the government of causing loss to the public exchequer and endangering national security by bypassing state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in favour of some businessman "friends" for offset contract.

Along with Sharma, other senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha, Parmod Tiwari and Pranav Jha.

The Congress had earlier met the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and urged the apex auditor to prepare a report on the alleged irregularities in the deal and present it in Parliament.

The Congress has been attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accusing them of lying over the issue.