WITH THE Congress keeping up the heat on the government over the Rafale fighter jet deal with France, alleging that it smacks of corruption, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was Defence Minister when the deal was inked in September 2016, on Saturday justified the cost and said that the aircraft is “probably smaller part of the total cost”, and that the “real cost comes in special equipment”.
Parrikar also criticised the “logjam created” in the Rafale deal under A K Antony, Defence minister in the UPA government, and called the Defence Ministry the “backroom” of foreign diplomacy that “does the actual exercise which needs to be done”.
Speaking at the launch of the book Securing India the Modi Way by Nitin Gokhale, Parrikar identified surgical strikes as “exercises which increase the (country’s) sphere of influence”.
During the campaign phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections, the Congress, and Rahul Gandhi, has questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on multiple occasions on the pricing front and sought details of the Rafale deal to be made public.
Explaining the price quotient, Parrikar said, “A fighter aircraft is not only (an) aircraft. (The) aircraft is probably smaller part of the total cost — the real cost comes in special equipment. How many of you know that this particular deal (includes) a helmet to be worn by the pilot where a target (gets) locked by just watching the target. It is virtually 360-degree visibility. The pilot doesn’t have to actually check up…. He has to just watch…and press the button. The computer does the rest….”
He said, “Our Rafales will come with this equipment…. That cost of development of helmet is included (in the deal).”
Stating that Indian Air Force was much superior to Pakistan’s during the 1999 Kargil war, Parrikar said, “Between 1999 and 2014, until Narendra Modi came, Pakistan, through various purchases, had acquired a capacity of 100 km range, whereas we had upgraded our BVR (Beyond
Visual Range missile) only 60 km on Su 30. So we were now in danger of being shot down by Pakistani fighters from 100 km away, and not being able to retaliate. That is also part of the (Rafale) purchase.”
Stating that part of the deal is “serviceability at 80 per cent”, he said, “I am explaining this only to make you understand that an aircraft may cost 92 million Euros, but other components will cost you 150 million Euros because you have to make it fighting fit.”
About the deal under the UPA, Parrikar said, “When the Prime Minister was signing the Rafale deal, one day prior to that we had an extensive meeting with the Air Force. We worked out the solution on how to come out of the logjam created by St Antony, (Former) Defence Minister Antony, who was called saint. He had a very strange noting on the file. He said, ‘start discussion, finalise price and after everything is finished, please come back to me with all documentary evidence’ how Dassault, or the Rafale company, was the lowest.”
Parrikar pointed out that the Central Vigilance Commission guidelines say the government cannot negotiate with anyone other than the lowest. “If you have identified him (any company) as the lowest, you can negotiate. But how do you negotiate with someone and then prove that he was lowest? So…for two-and-a-half years, the file was going around in circles (under UPA). We broke the circle by deciding that we have to take a different approach.”
On surgical strikes, Parrikar said such strikes are “all about hard power”. He said, “…I was part of the team that did that consecutively on eastern and western border, successfully without any damage to our side. So India, probably for the first time, started getting ratings of 95 and 100 per cent on hard power.”
On the strike along the LoC, he said he “must have had” 18 or 19 meetings between the terror strike at Uri and the actual strike. The meetings included several top Army officers and Defence Ministry officials “right above joint secretary level”. But, he said, “nothing leaked out, including flying out some of the officers to some foreign capitals to make arrangements. We had to send officers with authority to carry out on-spot purchase…”
Related Posts :
Declaring Pakistan A State Sponsor of Terrorism May Be Counter-Productive, Say Scholars
Want To Deepen Ties With China To Get More Leverage In Dealings With India: Nepal PM
Is Growing Chinese Presence In Sri Lanka A Cause of Worry For India?
As China Concerns Grow, India Looks To Build Military Presence In Seychelles
Pakistan Prime Minister Reluctant To Take Stern Action Against JuD