The Rafale deal inked between the Indian and French governments has been frequently making headlines in the home turf with the Congress-led Opposition hurling accusations of corruption against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government. Now critical views of the secretive deal are propping up in the French media as well.
Recently, France 24 – a State-owned TV network in France that caters to international audience – published a scrutinising piece titled "French Rafale jets deal sparks political storm in India" on the partnership between the makers of Rafale, Dassault, and Anil Ambani's Reliance Group as a part of the offset clause of investing 50 percent of the 8.7 billion dollars in the Indian defence system.
The State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was expected to be the natural partner considering its 78 years’ worth experience. Instead Ambani's Reliance Group which had launched a new defence company called Reliance Defence only 13 days prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of the new Rafale deal, landed the partnership with the government’s approval, the France 24 report observed.
Describing the relationship between Anil Ambani – the younger of the Ambani brothers – the article said:
While the 59-year-old billionaire businessman has had little success in the telecom sector and no experience in the aviation industry, he does have a special affinity for India’s Hindu nationalist prime minister.
The piece described Ambani's relationship with Modi to be "disconcerting" at times.
“The admiration, at times, has reached disconcerting levels, such as a 2016 “birthday message” by Ambani to Modi, which hailed the Indian prime minister as a “leader of leaders” and “king of kings” who “dreams with his eyes open,” the piece said.
It also characterised Modi's reign since 2014 to be stained with allegations of "crony capitalism" with the BJP taking private donations to political parties to “new levels”.
The article also weighed in the opinions and accusations of reputed advocates, journalists and former BJP members regarding the "falsehood" and the secrecy of the deal.
Comparing the Rafale deal to the Bofors scandal which ultimately led to the defeat of the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government in 1989, the article said that history "may just repeat itself in the upcoming 2019 election”, as the Opposition hopes for, "except this time, with the tables turned".
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