BJP president Amit Shah reacting on the Supreme Court verdict over Rafael Deal claimed that the verdict has only served to vindicate the Union government’s stand that there was no corruption or nepotism in the case.
Shortly after the Suprme court verdict Shah said in a tweet “Truth always triumphs! Court’s judgment on the Rafale deal exposes the campaign of misinformation spearheaded by Congress President for political gains. The court didn’t find anything wrong with the process, nor did it find any commercial favouritism in the deal.”
He also demanded that the Congress apologize for raising “childish allegations” against the Narendra Modi government, and disclose its source of information on the matter.
“On the contrary, the SC held that government had no role in selecting offset partners and found no merit in the demand for a probe based on mere perception of individuals. It, therefore, raises obvious questions on the motive of those working to discredit the deal, which is important for India,” he said.
“For so long, they kept saying that the country’s watchman is a thief, but the truth has finally been revealed. If you try to sling mud at the sun, the mud will only land on yourself”, he said.
The Supreme Court today dismissed all pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Rajan Gogoi said “(There is) no occasion to doubt the process of decision making in the award of contract for the purchase of 36 Rafale jets. It is not the Court’s job to get into comparative pricing details”.
The apex court said, “We don’t find any material to show that it’s commercial favouritism. We are satisfied that there is no occasion to doubt the process. A country cannot afford to be underprepared. It is not correct for the court to sit as an appellant authority and scrutinise all aspects.”
The case pertains to the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault Aviation. During the hearing, the four petitioners in the case had sought details on the process behind selecting Dassault Aviation for the contract and the price negotiated — they claim the current price by the NDA government is much higher than the one that was being negotiated for 126 aircraft by the previous UPA government. The government had responded that the price of the jets could not be disclosed to the public for reasons of national security and had submitted it to the apex court in a sealed envelope. The price is estimated at around Rs 59,000 crore.