Q.3 If the government’s hands are as clean as they claim, why is it shying away from a Joint Parliamentary committee probe?

Q.2 Can the Defence Minister make up her mind about the reasons behind key decisions pertaining to the Rafale deal?

Q.1 If HAL really was dropped by the UPA, why did the Modi government not mention it earlier since it has been facing allegations of ‘crony capitalism’ for months now?

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that it was the UPA that dropped Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) from the Rafale deal.

Speaking at an event held at the Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC), Sitharamn said, “HAL and Dassault couldn’t agree on production terms. So HAL and Rafale couldn’t go together. Doesn’t that very clearly say who didn’t go together with HAL and under which government it happened,” reported the Indian Express.

A classic example of shifting goalposts, this explanation has come only a few days after the minister had claimed that HAL was dropped because it did not have the required ‘capability’.

Also Read: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited vs Reliance Defence Ltd: An Objective Comparison

Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Ltd., was chosen for the offset clause of the deal, even though it has no experience in defence manufacturing and came into existence only 10 days before the Rafale deal was announced.

Opposition parties and the media has slammed the NDA for hurting state interests in favour of ‘crony capitalism’. Allegations of corruption in the deal are also mounting.

Sitharaman’s statement is in response to former defence minister A.K. Antony’s press release earlier in the day. Antony had slammed Sitharaman’s remark about HAL’s capability. He had said that the minister had ‘tarnished the image of HAL, which is the only company that can manufacture the fighter aircraft in India. We don’t know what her intentions were in ridiculing a public sector undertaking under her own Ministry.”

Also Read:Former Defence Minister AK Antony Launches Scathing Attack: Modi Govt Is Tarnishing HAL’s Image, Defence Minister Lying