New Delhi, August 29: Finance Minister today launched a fresh salvo at the Congress for alleging corruption in the Rafale Deal. In an interview to News Agency ANI, Jaitley refuted the charges levelled by Congress president Rahul Gandhi against the NDA government. He asked Gandhi to answer his 15 questions regarding the deal and also asked him to prove his allegations. The finance minister said the Congress presented false facts. He said, “Every fact that the Congress has said on pricing is factually false. Mr Rahul Gandhi himself has given 7 different prices in different speeches with regard to the 2007 Rafale offer.”

Jaitley termed allegations of the Congress as kindergarten or primary school debate. He said, “Allegations on Rafale deal is like a kindergarten or primary school debate, “Well, I was paying 500 something and you’ve paid 1600 something”. That’s the argument being given, it shows how little understanding Rahul Gandhi has.” When asked about the increased price of each aircraft as alleged by the Congress,

Full interview of Arun Jaitley on Rafale Deal:

Jaitley said that the basic aircraft price turns out to be 9% cheaper. The finance minister said, “What was negotiated from 2015 to 2016 and finally executed in 2016, with the escalations and the currency variations, the basic aircraft price turns out to be 9% cheaper. Is the Congress party aware of this?

He even blamed the Congress for compromising the national security by delaying the deal to purchase multi-role aircraft for almost 10 years. Jaitley said the deal concluded during the NDA regime was Government to government deal and with any private government.

Initially, the UPA government signed a deal of USD 12 billion which amounts to Rs 78,000 crore (approx.) for acquiring 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), Rafale Fighter jets. Out of these 126 jets, 18 were to be procured in ‘ready to fly’ condition and rest were to be produced in India in partnership with Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL).

As the UPA failed to conclude the deal before the 2014 elections, the Modi government after coming to power scrapped the old deal. The government signed a new contract in 2016, worth Rs 59,000 to acquire 36 jets in ready to fly condition.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 29, 2018 12:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).