The ghost of the Raphael deal is creeping up again

- In September 2015, intergovernmental agreements were signed for the sale of 4 Rafale aircraft.

- In 2013, in a public tender, Dassault was selected to supply 12 Rafale aircraft to the Indian Air Force.

- The Indians have left the people of France behind in maintaining a calm state of mind in various situations

Sangfreud is a French word. Which in Oxford Dictionary means the ability to remain calm in different circumstances. The Indians have left the people of France behind in maintaining a calm state of mind in various situations. The peace that millions of Indians walked thousands of kilometers to reach their homeland peacefully would not have been seen in any other country under such circumstances. The long lines of people rushing to the hospital in ambulances were not tolerated like in India. More than four lakh deaths due to corona would not have been taken for granted in any other country. Many such things can be added to the list of tolerance of the people of India.

Resignation is real, but not a responsibility

The Minister of Labor and Employment, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Education and several other ministers have finally resigned. However these ministers have not accepted any responsibility for the resignation. No one has linked his 'voluntary' resignation to his department's crackdown on the country's people in 2020 and 2021.

Rebzeb did not raise a single voice in the Indian capital, Delhi, in the heat when the French investigative journal Mediapart recently published another report in the wake of its April 2021 report on the Raphael plane deal. I also doubt whether anyone from the Ministry of Defense took note of the matter. The defense minister also did not respond. Contrary to earlier statements, the former defense minister chose to look at the report differently.

In April, in its three-part investigation, Mediapart revealed that France's anti-corruption agency had found evidence that Dassault (a French manufacturing company) had hired a known intermediary for another defense deal, which is currently under investigation in India. Agreed to pay euros and also paid 3 euros to an Indian company called Defy Solutions. The report was taken coldly in India, but not in France.

Finding links

Now more facts are coming out of the cupboard.

In 2013, in a public tender, Dassault was selected to supply 12 Rafale aircraft to the Indian Air Force, of which 16 were to be delivered in ready-to-fly condition while the remaining 108 were to be assembled in India.

On March 9, 2018, in the presence of the Chief of the Indian Air Force and the Chairman of HAL, the CEO of Dassault Aviation announced that an agreement would soon be reached between Dassault and HAL to manufacture the Raphael in India and transfer the technology to HAL.

On March 7, the second day of the announcement, Dassault signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private Indian company for project management, R&D design and engineering, assembly and manufacturing, maintenance and training.

In Paris on April 4, the Prime Minister was accompanied by some senior Indian officials on a visit to Paris where he confirmed that the Dassault-HAL agreement was moving forward and would be signed soon.

On April 10, in Paris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Dassault-HAL deal would be canceled and that the Indian Air Force would buy six Rafalees manufactured in France.

On November 8, a strategic partnership agreement was signed between Dassault and a private Indian company. It was stipulated that the responsibility for production, technology, no-how, final assembly line, technical assistance, etc. would rest with Dassault. While an Indian private company will provide an understanding of India's market place, production facilities and sales route with the Government of India and the states.

-In September 2016, intergovernmental agreements were signed for the sale of 4 Rafale aircraft.

On November 3, a shareholders' agreement was signed between Dassault and the concerned private Indian company. Dassault had agreed to provide ૫ 17.50 crore with a 51 per cent equity stake in the company, while the Indian company had agreed to provide 10 million euros with an 8 per cent equity stake.

Based on this fact, a new investigation has been launched by France's Public Prosecution Services, PNF, and a judicial inquiry has been ordered under the leadership of a judge.

Institutional failure

At a time when the controversy was raging, the country's four institutions - the media, the Supreme Court, Parliament and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) - have failed the country on the issue. I am sure and sad that Parliament will be defensive on this issue. The CAG will also close its doors.

However a new rumble has started in the Supreme Court room. The court is yet to reconsider the inter-government agreement and Justice Gogoi's order dated December 16, 2016. I trust the media, because the media has both a pen and a voice, which can have echoes.

As far as the people of the country are concerned, will they remain calm or not? The word sangfreud in French also means 'cold liver'.