Why did Sitharaman say Rafale offset deal not awarded: Congress

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday flaunted two press releases from Reliance Defence, which said it had bagged a Rs 30,000-crore offset contract and a Rs I lakh-crore lifecycle cost contract from Dassault Aviation, to ask defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman why she had said Dassault Aviation had not been awarded the offset contract.

Questioning the eligibility of the private firm to get the offset contract, Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sitharaman of “violating all guidelines of the Defence Acquisition Council for offset contract” while rewarding the contracts to the private company instead of PSU Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd.

Intensifying its attack on the Modi government, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said at a special news conference on Friday “defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has claimed in a PIB press release on February 7, ‘Dassault Aviation has not awarded the offset contract’ but Reliance Defence Limited claimed to have secured the ‘offset contract’ from Dassault Aviation for Rs 30,000 crore and a consequent ‘lifecycle cost contract’ of Rs 1 lakh crore in its press release dated February 16, 2017. Even Dassault Aviation in its Annual Report 2016-17 has claimed that ‘offset contract’ is being executed by ‘Reliance’.


"The question is why Nirmala Sitharaman has been lying about the offset contract. Let me also ask who is lying — the defence minister or Reliance/ Dassault Aviation?”

Spelling out the defence acquisition council’s offset guidelines, Surjewala asked “can Reliance and Dassault Aviation sign an offset contract of Rs 30,000 crore without the approval of the defence minister? Has the offset contract been countersigned by the acquisition manager of the defence ministry? Why has the six monthly audits not been conducted? Has the acquisition wing submitted an annual report to Defence Acquisition Council? If not, reasons thereof? Can a private corporate entity and supplier of the defence equipment in the largest defence deal of the country be permitted to gloss over the defence offset contract guidelines/instructions?”

Questioning technical and professional eligibility of the private firm to bag the offset contract and accusing the Modi government of showing haste in awarding the contracts to the firm, Surjewala asked Modi two questions:

“Is it a fact that Reliance Defence was incorporated a mere 12 days before and Reliance Aerostructure incorporated a mere 14 days after the unilateral announcement of purchase of 36 Rafale aircrafts in France by PM Modi on April 10, 2015?

"Is it a fact that Reliance Aerostructure did not own the premises at Village Lunsapur (Amreli), Gujarat, at that time of submission of application for license for manufacturing fighter aircraft? Is it a fact that even at that time of grant of industrial license on February 22, 2016, premises at Amreli, Gujarat, were not owned by Reliance Aerostructure? Could an industrial licence be granted by the defence ministry without this verification?”