The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday said it welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision in relation to asking the Centre for pricing details of the 36 Rafale fighter jets India is buying from France in a sealed cover within 10 days.
Terming it a “slap” on the face of the Narendra Modi-led dispensation at the Centre, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said the apex court’s decision was timely considering the BJP government had been “lying from the start” regarding the details of the deal. “While the Defence Minister claims that details regarding the price of the jets cannot be disclosed in the interests of the security of the country, one of their Ministers, Subhash Bhamre, has no qualms putting the same information in the public domain,” Mr. Singh alleged.
Mr. Singh said that he and two other AAP MPs had met with the chairman of the Central Vigilance Commission and the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) demanding a probe in the matter on March 12 even as he questioned the delay in the institution of an an inquiry into the case.
“The BJP has a lot of questions to answer...how did a jet priced at Rs. 526 crore get a new price tag of Rs. 1670 crore? Who is lying regarding the price of the jets; the Union Defence Minister or a junior BJP Minister? Alok Verma was supposed to preside over an investigation in this case and that is why he was suddenly removed,” Mr. Singh alleged.
