The Supreme Court order giving the government a clean chit on the Rafale deal is not a setback as the issue is still live in the “people’s court” and the Congress will continue to raise it in Parliament, according to party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said.
The apex court has dismissed all the petitions seeking a direction to the CBI to register an FIR for alleged irregularities in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France and said there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the multi-billion dollar defence deal.
“The apex court order is not a setback as the Rafale deal is still an issue in the people’s court. And the party will continue to raise the issue in the Parliament,” Mr. Scindia told reporters on Friday.
The Congress has been demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Rafale fighter jet deal.
A Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi said there had been a necessity for fighter aircraft and the country cannot remain without the jets.
The CJI, who read out the judgement for the three-judge Bench, said no reasons were found to interfere in the fighter jets procurement process.
The verdict was pronounced on a batch of pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the deal.
