SC Rafale Judgment Kicks Off War of Words Between Congress, BJP

The BJP, which has largely been reticent about taking questions on the Rafale deal, raked up the issue in parliament and held a press conference, while the Congress continues to seek a joint parliamentary probe.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court judgement on the Rafale deal on December 14 has kicked off an intense war of words between the Congress and the BJP.

Earlier this morning, the apex court rejected a clutch of petitions asking for a probe on the controversial Rafale deal. The BJP, with the thought that the judgement proves that there was no wrongdoing in the purchase of the 36 fighter aircraft, asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi to apologise for misleading the Indian public.

Also read: Supreme Court Dismisses All Petitions Asking for Probe Into Rafale Deal

The Congress, on the other hand, is insisting on having a joint parliamentary probe on the deal, saying that it believes that the SC was not in a position to interrogate the multiple regulatory violations in the deal. This is why, Congress’s national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, that the party, given the limitations of the court in such a matter, had chosen not to move the SC.

The petitions heard in the court were filed by lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma, AAP legislator Sanjay Singh and the trio of Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Prashant Bhushan.

Activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan after the Supreme Court verdict on the Rafale case in New Delhi on December 14, 2018. Credit: PTI/Arun Sharma

A victorious BJP

The BJP launched an all-out attack on the Congress following the judgement. The saffron party’s chief Amit Shah began his tirade with a tweet.


Soon after, in Rajya Sabha, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley challenged the Congress for a discussion on the deal and said that the fighter jets were purchased at at a cheaper rate than what the UPA government had negotiated for – a claim he made earlier in his blog.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh too attacked the opposition for “spreading misinformation” about the defence deal and “spoiling India’s image”.

In the evening, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Jaitley addressed the press, reiterating similar points.

Shah, at a press conference, said, “If you try to sling mud at the sun, the mud will only land on yourself,” adding that the Congress party had a ‘history of corruption’.  

He also took a dig at the Gandhi. “For so long, all the thieves got together to say kept saying that the country’s watchman is a thief (chowkidaar chor hai), but the truth has finally been revealed.”

He said that had there been any evidence of corruption, the Congress party would have approached the court. “Why did the Congress not approach the Supreme Court if it has evidence of corruption? The doors of the Supreme Court are open to everyone… It is clear that they knew their allegations were baseless, without any facts to back them. Everything they said was based on lies,” he said.

He said that the Modi government ensured transparency in the process by getting into a government-to-government with France. By doing this, he added, the prime minister denounced the Congress way of involving middlemen in defence deals.

Also read: Rafale Deal: Nine Questions the Supreme Court Verdict Leaves Unanswered

The SC judgment comes as some succour for the BJP and its chief, who have not met the media ever since the party lost all five states that went to polls recently. An all-out attack on the Congress, which won three of the five states, on the issue of Rafale deal, has come as an opportunity for the BJP to try and dominate the political narrative once again.

For the last two years, the BJP has been reticent about taking questions on the Rafale deal when the Congress was making allegations. Even ministers in the Modi government maintained secrecy and did not offer a factual rejoinder to the charges.

Congress’s defence

The counter-attack by the Congress came early in the day.  Surjewala told the media, “The verdict of the Supreme Court today is a validation of what the Congress Party stated months ago, particularly on 15th of November 2018, that Supreme Court is not the forum to decide the issue of such sensitive defence contract.”

He recalled having told the media that Article 136 and Article 32 of the Indian Constitution limits the Supreme Court to decide the issues like pricing, the purchase process, the sovereign guarantee and the corruption in the Rafale contract.

He said that in the verdict the SC accepts that the court is not technically suited to examine such issues.  “They (the judges) have again said in Para 15 that we are constricted by our power of judicial review. They have again said in Para 34 that our judgment is purely from the standpoint of our power under Article 32,” the Congress leader said.

“The only forum is a Joint Parliamentary Committee which should probe the entire corruption in the Rafale deal, find out and decide who are the persons who are accused and then the process of law must be set in motion,” he said.  

He added that the government presented “one-sided half-baked” information to the SC on “an unsigned affidavit” which was not available for scrutiny.

“We have maintained from day go and that is why Congress Party chose and decided never to go to Supreme Court or invoke its jurisdiction,” he said, adding that his party has moved the appropriate forums like the parliament to demand a JPC and the CAG to examine the matter.  

Congress MP Sunil Jakhar moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha over the Rafaela Deal. Credit: PTI/Shahbaz Khan

“…if Modi ji and his Government has committed no corruption, then I challenge him today on behalf of the Indian National Congress to submit to a JPC probe which will examine the notings on the file, which will examine and question the Prime Minister and all the Defence Ministry Officials…” he said.  

They have said “it was made clear that issue of pricing or matters relating to technical suitability of the equipment would not be gone into by the Court. They have again said in Para 15 that we are constricted by our power of judicial review. They have again said in Para 34 that our judgment is purely from the standpoint of our power under Article 32″.

Surjewala also said that if the judgement is read carefully, there were multiple instances where the government appears to have misled the court.

Later in the evening, the Congress president also addressed the press. He said that the government was trying to brush a corruption case under the carpet. He said that the government had lied to the court to get a favourable judgement.

“We have three questions. One, why were jets worth Rs 526 crores bought for Rs 1626 crores. Two, why was the Rs 30000 crore offset contract snatched from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and given to Anil Ambani’s company? Three, why were all the jets purchased in a fly-away condition when manufacturing them in India would have generated jobs,” Gandhi asked.

Also read: With the Supreme Court to Rule on Rafale Deal, Here’s a Guide to the Issues

He added that the prime minister, who struck the deal, has been conspicuously silent and left it to his minister to “vacillate”.

He said that the judgement is based on the government’s information to the court that a CAG report on the deal was given to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is headed by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

However, Kharge, who was present at the press conference, said he had received no such CAG report. He said that the government lied to the court.

“Where is the CAG report? Which is the PAC the government is talking about? The government is tearing all the institutions to shreds,” said Gandhi, asserting that his party will prove that “Chowkidaar chor hai”.

“The day JPC happens, the nexus of Narendra Modi and Anil Ambani in siphoning off public funds will be exposed,” the Congress president hit back at the BJP.