CAG likely to submit Rafale report shortly

New delhi: A crucial report on the Rafale fighter jet deal is likely to be submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the coming days and a redacted version is set to be tabled in Parliament during the upcoming interim budget session.

Sources said the report on the 7.87 billion euro deal inked in 2016 to purchase 36 Rafale jets is almost ready after replies were received from the defence ministry on audit observations. The contents of the report are not yet known but a clean chit could give the government a leg up with the Rafale issue being taken as a central electoral point by the opposition.

While the CAG has gone into details of the contract—including the contentious issue of pricing that the Congress has been raising—the final report to be made public will redact sensitive details like individual cost of equipment being fitted on the fighter jets. The tabling of the report could take place before the Supreme Court rules on a correction plea that the Centre has filed on the dismissal of a public interest litigation that had prayed for a detailed investigation into the Rafale deal.

While the order had said CAG has examined the matter and a redacted portion of the report was placed before Parliament, the government has requested the apex court to change the sentence to reflect that at the time of the judgement, the report had not been tabled. The government believes that its explanation of the regular audit process was misread as events that had already been undertaken.

The Congress has been on the offensive over the Rafale deal, raising the dual issues of over pricing as well as offsets for the contract to Reliance Defence. The CAG, however, is not expected to go into details of the offset contract with the private company.