The government on Tuesday said the Law Ministry raised some objections on the direct purchase of 36 Rafale fighters from France, even as the Defence Standing Committee, chaired by senior BJP MP Maj. Gen. B.C. Khanduri (retd.), said it was “distressed” by the delay in concluding the deal.
“The Ministry of Law & Justice has made certain observations and the same will be taken into account while finalising the Inter-Governmental Agreement [IGA], which is still under negotiation,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. However he did not elaborate on the observations.
Mr. Parrikar said negotiations on the terms and conditions, including the total cost, actual delivery timelines and guarantee period have not been concluded.
This disclosure comes at a time when the two countries are locked in tough negotiations over price and officials said they were hopeful of concluding the IGA in a few months.
Concern over delay
Separately the Standing Committee on Defence in a report titled “Demands for grants (2016-17) Army, Navy and Air Force (demand no. 22)” tabled in the Lok Sabha expressed concern over the delay.
“The committee is distressed to note that although considerable time has elapsed, negotiations with France on ‘Rafale’ could not be taken to the logical end,” the report said.
In a strong observation on the original Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contest, the report observed that the contract negotiations in the procurement case could not be concluded “because Dassault Aviation did not confirm agreement with certain terms” of the Request for Proposal (RFP) and its bid.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the direct purchase of 36 Rafale jets in April last year in Paris.
