Published 19:11 IST, July 20th 2018
BIG SCOOP: France responds to Rahul Gandhi's allegations on Rafale deal contradicting the Congress president. Here's the statement
France has responded to Rahul Gandhi's allegations regarding the Rafale deal
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France has issued an official response to allegations levelled by Congress president Rahul Gandhi during his speech on the no confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.
Speaking in the house, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that the Prime Minister had altered Rafale aircraft order by India, suggesting that the Cabinet Committee on Security had not been consulted. He named Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, stating that she had offered to table documents regarding the deal but then backtracked citing an official secrets treaty between India and France. However, the Congress president then went on to claim that he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the matter and had been told in return that no such pact exists.
No Confidence Motion | Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Responds To Rahul Gandhi's Accusations On The Rafale Deal
However, France has now offered the following clarification:
"We have noted the statement of Mr Rahul Gandhi before the Indian Parliament. France and India concluded in 2008 a Security agreement, which 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. These provisions naturally apply to the IGA concluded on 23 September 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons.
As the President of the French Republic indicated publicly in an interview given to India Today on 9th March 2018, In India and in France, when a deal is very sensitive, we can’t reveal all details"
After France issued its response, Rahul Gandhi, while leaving Parliament even with the No Confidence debate still ongoing, Rahul Gandhi said :
"Let them deny if they want. He (Macron) said that before me. I was there. Anand Sharma and Ex-PM (Manmohan Singh) were also there"
Rahul Gandhi's remarks triggered an uproar in the house, with an adjournment being necessitated on account of his naming the Defence Minister and making allegations against the Prime Minister.Following that, a privilege motion was moved by the BJP against Rahul Gandhi.
The privilege motion states the following:
"While participating in the discussion, he made serious, baseless and wild allegations against the government and particularly against the honourable Prime Minister regarding the Rafale deal. He stated that the Rafale deal was signed during the UPA regime but when the PM went to France, the cost suddenly shot to Rs 1600 crore from Rs 520 crore. He also stated that under pressure from Prime Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman told to lie to the nation. He further alleged that PM cheated his own army on dealing with China on the Doklam issue."
It goes on to add,
"Since the statement was baseless, malicious and amounting to bring disrepute to the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, the statement made by Shri Rahul Gandhi was misleading to the members and the house. All these incidents amount to breach of privilege and I want to move a privilege motion against Shri Rahul Gandhi"
Additionally, Republic TV has accessed official documents where former UPA ministers AK Antony and Pranab Mukherjee also stated similar secrecy treaties to not provide sensitive information:
18:25 IST, July 20th 2018