RAFALE Deal Will Not Be Cancelled, Says FM Jaitley Questioning Intent Of Ex-French President’s Hollande’s Contradictory Statements On Selection Of Anil Ambani’s Company By the French Vendor For Offset Works.

RAFALAE Jet fighter deal for 36 aircraft in flyway condition from  French vendor, Dassault  will not be cancelled said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley after rubbishing allegations made by AICC President  Rahul Gandhi  about  corruption in the  multi –crore  purchase agreement. Whether the planes are bought at a higher rate or not is a matter for the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to examine, he added. Meanwhile, the Finance Minister made it  clear that irrespective of the accusations, the Rafale deal will not be cancelled. Questioning the timing of the statement made by former French President Francois Hollande that came days after Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s August 30 tweet warning of “some big bunker buster bombs in the next couple of weeks” over the Rafale deal, Arun Jaitley on Sunday alleged that it was not a mere coincidence that the opposition leaders of the two countries were speaking in one voice. The French Government & M/s Dassault Aviation have categorically denied the correctness of the former President’s first statement.  The French Government has stated that the decision with regard to the offset contracts of Dassault Aviation was taken by the company and not the Governments of  France and  India  .There is no ‘partnership’, as suggested by the former President, with regard to the 36 Rafale aircrafts to be supplied by Dassault Aviation to the Government of India. It was a Government to Government agreement under which the complete weaponised aircrafts are to come to the Indian Air Force. Jaitley’s counter comes amid a political firestorm triggered by Hollande’s statement to a investigative website on Friday that the Indian government had proposed Reliance Defence as the Indian partner of French defence giant Dassault, and that France “did not have a choice” in the matter.”He has, in a subsequent statement, said that he is ‘not aware’ if Government ever lobbied for Reliance Defence and that ‘the partners chose themselves’,” contradicting his first questionable statement which the French Government and Dassault have denied, Jaitley added .The former French premier, when asked whether India had pressured Reliance and Dassault to work together, told news agency AFP that he was unaware and “only Dassault can comment on this”.”His second statement in Montreal, Canada to AFP makes the veracity of his first statement even more questionable,” the Finance Minister said.Meanwhile, senior Bharatiya  Janata party leader Party  leader Dr Subramanian Swamy has challenged  the Congress party to produce evidence to prove that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is corrupt and added that Rahul Gandhi being convinced is not enough. He said, “Rahul Gandhi being convinced is not enough and the court should be convinced that PM Modi is corrupt. What proof has he got against Modi? Let the Congress produce more evidence that money changed hands and Anil Ambani gave money for the deal.” Earlier, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged that Congress is convinced that PM Modi is corrupt and called Modi ‘desh ka chor’.