PM Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighters after holding talks with the then French president Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.
Amidst the ongoing war of words between the Congress and the BJP over the allegations of corruption in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale jet deal, a delegation of top Congress leaders will meet the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to seek an independent probe into the matter.
Last week, the Congress had met the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). It had requested the apex auditor to prepare a report on the alleged irregularities in the deal and present it in Parliament. Congress is likely to make a similar request to the CVC, besides demanding egistration of a case of corruption in the matter, the party said on Sunday.
The Congress has launched a string of allegations against the BJP government over the Rafale deal accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of corruption and violation of rules and demanded answers from him. It has also accused the prime minister, finance minister and defence minister of "lying on the issue".
The Rafale controversy took a turn last week after former French president Francois Hollande claimed that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence's name as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation. A day after he contradicted his earlier statement saying that France did not choose to partner with Indian businessman Anil Ambani's company in "any way". Hollande added that only Dassault can comment on the Rafale fighter jet deal.
Things went awry when Congress President Rahul Gandhi during his press conference on Saturday launched an attack on the prime minister and the BJP government. Soon after the Congress chief's press conference, wherein he went on to describe PM Modi as 'corrupt', ministers and leaders of the BJP lambasted him terming his comments as 'shameful' and 'irresponsible'.
PM Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighters after holding talks with the then French president Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.
In response, the French government said it was in no manner involved in the choice of Indian industrial partners for the Rafale deal, asserting that French firms have the full freedom to select Indian companies for the contract.
The Reliance group has rejected charges levelled against it by the Congress and said the government was in no way involved in securing its offset contract with Dassault Aviation.
