The deal for the Dassault Aviation-made Rafale was renegotiated during the tenure of French President Francois Hollande, who was succeeded by Emmanuel Macron
New Delhi: French jet maker Dassault has said that the company had chosen Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as an offset partner in the Rafale deal.
The deal was signed between India and France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as a part of upgrading Indian Air Force (IAF) equipment.
The Dassault Aviation deal to manufacture Rafale jets was redone during the tenure of French President Francois with PM Modi Hollande, who was succeeded by Emmanuel Macron.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has accused the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of renegotiating the price of the aircraft and purchasing it at a price three times higher than what was finalised by the erstwhile UPA government.
Rahul has also alleged that the Modi government had favoured the Anil Ambani-owned company, a charge denied by both the government and Dassault.
“We chose Ambani by ourselves. We already have 30 partners other than Reliance. The IAF is supporting the deal because they need the fighter jets for their own defence to be at the top,” Dassault CEO Eric Trappier told ANI in an interview.
Dassault CEO Eric Trappier clarifies on the pricing of the aircrft pic.twitter.com/E21EumrQAt
— ANI (@ANI)Rahul on November 2 said that Dassault invested Rs 284 crore in Anil Ambani’s loss-making company, which was used to procure land in Nagpur. He said it was clear that the Dassault CEO was lying.
However, Trappier countered: "I don't lie. The truth I declared before and the statements I made are true. I don't have a reputation of lying. In my position as CEO, you don't lie," Trappier said.
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