Last week, the Supreme Court had dismissed petitions that had sought a court-monitored CBI probe into the multi-billion Rafale fighter aircraft deal.
Jaipur: Amid the ongoing political slugfest over the multi-billion Rafale fighter aircraft deal, Indian Air Force chief Birender Singh Dhanoa on Wednesday reiterated that the IAF needs the jet more than ever before. Describing the jet manufactured by France’s Dassault Aviation as a “game changer”, the Air Force chief said India’s adversaries have already upgraded their defence systems.
Dhanoa further described the recent Supreme Court verdict on petitions against the Rafale deal as a fine judgement, rejecting the allegations of irregularities levelled by the opposition Congress party.
“Who says we don’t need Rafale? The government says we need Rafale, we are saying we need Rafale, the Supreme Court has given a fine judgement. It took us so long that our adversaries have already upgraded their system. Rafale is a game changer,” the Air Chief Marshal said in Jodhpur.
The IAF chief’s assertion came on a day when the Congress party described the Supreme Court judgement on Rafale case as “self-contradictory”. Congress leader Anand Sharma said the government had misled the court on the matter so the judgement should be recalled in order to restore the court’s credibility.
Last week, the Supreme Court had dismissed petitions that had sought a court-monitored CBI probe into the Rafale deal.
The Congress has time and again raised question marks on the deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, alleging the present dispensation was procuring the aircraft at an inflated price. The Congress has claimed that the Narendra Modi government is procuring each jet at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the then Congress-led UPA government.
The government, on its part, has rejected claims of any irregularity in the government-to-government deal.