{"id":47410,"date":"2018-07-28T17:54:57","date_gmt":"2018-07-28T12:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/?p=47410"},"modified":"2018-07-28T17:55:54","modified_gmt":"2018-07-28T12:25:54","slug":"rafale-deal-congress-launches-fresh-attack-alleges-crony-capitalism-to-favour-reliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/india-news\/rafale-deal-congress-launches-fresh-attack-alleges-crony-capitalism-to-favour-reliance\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafale deal: Congress launches fresh attack, alleges crony capitalism to favour Reliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Congress on Friday came out with a fresh set of papers accusing the Modi government of deceiving the country and saying that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman<\/a> \u201cmisled\u201d the nation on the Rafale fighter aircraft deal.<\/p>\n

The Congress focused on award of offset contract to Reliance Defence Ltd and alleged that something was amiss in grant of the contract.<\/p>\n

Although the offset contract given to the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited \u2013 a joint venture between RDL and Dassault \u2013 is worth Rs 30,000 crore, the Congress released RIL\u2019s papers which claimed that \u201ca consequent Lifecycle Cost Contract\u201d of Rs 1 lakh crore was also awarded to it.<\/p>\n

Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Friday evening, \u201cDear Trolls, I apologise for my earlier tweet in which I stated Mr 56\u2019s friend\u2019s JV, received 4 Billion US$\u2019s of \u201coffset\u201d contracts. I forgot to add the 16 Billion US$ RAFALE \u201clifecycle\u201d contract. 20 BILLION US$, is the actual benefit. So Sorry!! #130000CroreRafaleScam\u201d<\/p>\n

AICC communication department head Randeep Surjewala said, \u201cWhat is surprising is that one of the biggest defence offset contracts went to a company, Reliance Defence Ltd Reliance Defence was incorporated on March 28, 2015, just 12 days before the announcement of purchase of 36 Rafale aircrafts by PM in France on 10th April, 2015. The company Reliance Defence Ltd. did not have the license to manufacture fighter aircrafts at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surjewala placed records of the ministry of corporate affairs, RIL\u2019s press releases and company records to make his point that the Modi government had gifted the Anil Ambani-owned company a huge defence contract despite the fact that it neither had any industry experience nor any required assets, said a report in The Wire.<\/p>\n

He highlighted a separate contract around the same time of the Rafale deal in which RDL\u2019s sister company, Reliance Aerostructure Ltd benefitted. \u201cAnother subsidiary of RIL, Reliance Aerostructure Ltd (RAL), was given the license to manufacture fighter aircraft in 2016 around the same time when RDL got the offset contract in the Rafale deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surjewala claimed that RAL, which was \u201cgiven the industrial licence to manufacture fighter aircraft\u201d on February 22, 2016, did not own any land or building when it applied for the licence, reported The Indian Express (IE).<\/p>\n

\u201cIn its licence application for manufacturing fighter aircraft, Reliance Aerostructure Ltd has given its address and location as \u2018Survey No. 589, Taluka Jafrabad, Village Lunsapur, District Amreli, Gujarat\u2019. At that time, these premises were not owned by Reliance Aerostructure. The address belonged to Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Co Ltd,\u201d the Congress leader was quoted by IE as saying.<\/p>\n

Surjewala said 2015-16 annual report of the Reliance Group itself says that \u201cacquisition of Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Co. was successfully completed in January 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven on the date of license i.e 22.02.2016, Reliance Aerostructure Ltd. did not own the land or building at the aforesaid address. It was Reliance Defence Ltd. that acquired the company only on 18.01.2016 and name was then changed to Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited,\u201d Surjewala was quoted as saying by The Wire.<\/p>\n

He cited the company\u2019s annual report 2015-16, page number 5 to substantiate his allegation. Similarly, he said even RAL was allotted 104 acres in Mihan SEZ, Nagpur, Maharashtra on 28 August 2015 for around Rs 63 crore, which was paid only in July, 2017. \u201cSo when the RAL was awarded the license to manufacture fighter aircrafts, it technically had no assets of its own. Is the Modi government serious about our country\u2019s security?\u201d<\/p>\n