Former French President Francois Hollande caused a huge stir this week with his statement on the Indo-French Rafale deal. Hollande, who was the president of France when the Modi government hatched a fresh deal on the Rafale deal, said Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence was recommended by the Indian government. The French government, Hollande said, had no say in the matter.
The Rafale deal has been the Modi government’s Achilles heel, especially over the past year or so, with the Opposition raising questions on the process behind changing the 126-fighter jet deal at the last moment. Questions were especially raised on the decision to drop Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as offset partner from the deal and replace it with Reliance Defence, which had little experience in defence manufacturing.
The deal was also rectified from that of 126 jets to just 36, which the government claimed they were purchasing in “fly-away” condition for the same price.
Hollande’s statement, therefore, has seemingly validated the Opposition’s claims of “crony capitalism” by the BJP, and has also exposed the BJP’s shifting goalposts when it came to the matter.