PRESS RELEASE

23 July, 2018 | New Delhi

Statement Issued by Shri A K Antony, MP (Rajya Sabha), Shri Anand Sharma, MP

(Rajya Sabha) & Shri Randeep Singh Surjewala, In-Charge Communications, AICC
Deluding and Misleading the People of India, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and Defence
Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman sought to lie on the floor of the Parliament. Neither the revelation of
the ‘Commercial Cost’ of Rafale aircrafts will violate any ‘Secrecy Agreement’ with the French
Government, nor will it reveal any ‘Classified or Protected Information.

On July 20th, during the discussion of No Confidence Motion against his Government in Parliament, PM Modi
sought to hide behind a cloak of ‘Psudo-Nationalism’ in the ‘Rafale Deal’. The truth however is, Modi
Government is unforgivably guilty of compromising ‘National interest’ & ‘National Security’ in the Rafale
Deal. Shoddy ‘cover-up’, ‘self-defeating assertions’ & ‘deliberate lies’ are being dished out to ‘divert’,
‘dupe’& ‘deceive’. Grave apprehensions and claims of insurmountable loss being caused to public exchequer
stand exposed as Government refuses to ‘state the truth’.

New Revelations in the ‘Rafale Deal’ nail the doublespeak, lies and hypocrisy of the Modi Govt.
1. Commercial Cost of the Rafale Jets can be revealed in ‘Indo French Confidentiality Agreement’, 2008

The ‘Agreement between the Republic of India and the Government of the French Republic concerning the
protection of Classified Information and Material in the Field of Defence’ signed between the two countries
on January 25, 2008; during the Congress-UPA does not mention that ‘Commercial Cost’ of
Procurement of Defence Deals cannot be revealed. (Refer Pages 2416-2425 (document page 2266 to
2275) in https://mea.gov.in/Uploads/PublicationDocs/177_foreign-relations-2008.pdf - Relevant portion
attached as Annexure A1)

The scope of the agreement only extends to tactical and technical details of weaponry relating to the
capability of the platform in question, and its performance and tactics in combat and does not include
commercial details and costs. It is clear that PM and Defence Minister misled the Nation.

2. Dassault Aviation (Rafale) reveals the price-‘Rafale’ Pricing – ₹41,205 Crore Loss of Public Money!
Per aircraft price of Rafale as per international bid opened on 12th December, 2012, during UPA-Congress
Govt, comes to ₹526.10 Cr i.e. ₹18,940 Cr for 36 aircrafts. Modi Govt purchased 36 Rafale aircrafts
for Euro 7.5 Billion (₹ 1670.70 Cr per aircraft) i.e. ₹60,145 Cr for 36 aircrafts. This price is apparent
from ‘Annual Report, 2016’ of Dassault Aviation (Copy Annexure A5)Will BJP explain the extra
amount of ₹41,205 Cr paid from public money?
Shockingly, Dassault Aviation sold same 48 Rafale aircrafts to two other countries - Egypt and Qatar (24
to Egypt & 24 to Qatar) in the year 2015 for a mere Euro 7.9 Billion. i.e. ₹1319.80 Cr per aircraft (Please
See Annexure A2). Then, why did India pay ₹ 1670.70 Cr per Rafale aircraft, purchase of which was
announced by PM on 10th April, 2015? Even compared to Egypt and Qatar, India is clearly paying an
extra price of ₹.350.90 crore per aircraft or ₹.12,632 crore for 36 aircrafts.
 3. Government bound to reveal the price to CAG and Parliamentary Standing Committee
As per law, the government is bound to provide full information to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC),
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).Therefore,
Why is the Modi Govt not disclosing the commercial cost of the deal?

4. Defence Minister Agreed to Disclose the Rafale Price. Why Hide Now?
Defence Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a press conference in Raksha Bhawan on 17th November,
2017 publicly directed the Defence Secretary to share the purchase price of 36 Rafale aircrafts. Why is she
now refusing to disclose the price?

5. Defence Minister disclosed Rafale Price in Parliament earlier. Did the Defence Ministry mislead the
Parliament then or are they misleading now?
Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Subhash Bhamre, in a reply to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha on
18.11.2016, revealed the price of each Rafale aircraft as approximately ₹670 crore. (Please See Annexure
A3).
Defence Ministry again disclosed the price of Rafale aircraft in reply to Question No.2574 dated 19th March,
2018 given in Rajya Sabha and reveal the price to be approx. Rs.670 Cr. Copy attached as Annexure A4.
Price actually is ₹1670 Cr as is apparent from the ‘Annual Report, 2016’ of Dassault Aviation (Annexure
A2). Why is Defence Minister then lying today?

6. French Government did not say that ‘price cannot be disclosed’

On March 8, 2018, in an interview to a prominent news channel, French President, Mr. Emmanuel Macron
stated that if the Modi government wanted to disclose some of the details, it can do so.
He said “There are some discussions to be organised by the Indian government, and they will have to
consider which details they would want to be revealed to the Opposition and Parliament. I am not one to
interfere in such a discussion and you too must realise that we have to consider commercial sensitivities.”
(Please See Annexure A5)

PM Modi in Parliament took refuge in the statement released by the French Government. Modi Govt
must tell that the price of Rafale jet is not a secret, its specifications and weaponry are. The statement said
the agreement “legally binds the two States to protect the classified information provided by the partner that
could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France.”
Where has the French Govt said even today that price of Rafale jet can't be disclosed?
7. Congress-UPA revealed the cost of previous Defence Deals(Annexure A6)
a) Unstarred Question No: 2822 in the Lok Sabha, dated 15.03.2010 where the revised cost of USD 2330
million for acquiring INS Vikramaditya was made public by the then Defence Minister Shri A K Antony
b) Unstarred Question No: 941 in the Lok Sabha dated 04.03.2013, where the cost of upgradation of Mirage
Aircraft is clearly mentioned.
c) Unstarred Question No: 2318 in the Lok Sabha dated 09.08.2010, where the the estimated cost of
procuring Sukhoi Aircrafts is mentioned.
d) A press release by the Ministry of Defence on Kaveri engine development project was revealed on
February 23, 2011.