'Fudged Arithmetic': Jaitley dismisses report on Rafale deal price escalation

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday described a newspaper article on the Rafale fighter jet deal which had said that the 36 aircraft signed by the Modi government cost 41 per cent more per aircraft than what was provided in the deal negotiated by the UPA government as 'fudged arithmetic'.

Tweeting from New York, where he has gone for a medical check-up, Jaitley said: "The new article on Rafale is based on fudged arithmetic -- ignore the escalation of the 2007 non-deal offer and compare it with the 2016 price and invent a scam."

He was referring to the article published in the daily 'The Hindu' which said each of the 36 Rafale fighter jet in the inter-government deal signed between India and France announced in 2015 was costing 41 per cent more than the UPA negotiated deal because of India Specific Enhancement and other reasons.

"The 2007 escalation offer was much larger than 2016 agreed escalation. The price differential would widen with each subsequent supply. The Supreme Court has examined the prices. The CAG is examining the same. The fudged arithmetic of a compulsive contrarian can hardly be objective," Jaitley said.

Earlier on Friday, Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Friday escalated his attack over the Rafale deal and accused the government of compromising national security and asked why it bought only 36 jets instead of the 126 required by the Air Force.