Today our nation witnessed a very pathetic scene inside the Supreme Court of India . The central government revealing that the Rafale deal documents were stolen from the Defence Ministry. The irony of this statement is that our Prime Minister repeatedly assures to the nation that he is a watchman of our country and his party aids boasts that only Narendra Modi can safeguard our nation. If the government couldn’t protect the most sensitive documents pertaining to our national security how can the nation trust their words and promises? If it’s really missing why the government start any investigation regarding the missing documents. The centre accuses The Hindu newspaper of publishing the document details in the public domain.
The Hindu reported that the deal became more expensive for India because of France’s refusal to provide bank guarantees. The newsbreak by N Ram, Chairman of The Hindu Publishing Group, says the deal signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016 for the aircraft and weapons packages for 36 fly-away Rafale fighter jets was more expensive by around Rs. 1,963 crore (Euro 246.11 million) than the estimated aligned cost of the 126 aircraft deal being negotiated by the previous Congress-led government.
The newspaper quotes a report of the Indian Negotiating Team (INT) to the defence ministry on July 21, 2016, and says it reveals how a parallel negotiating track weakened India’s position and bolstered the French.
If the centre is so sure that the documents are stolen they should immediately look into the matter and investigate the officials involved in it instead of accusing the newspaper which has only done their duty to expose the ruling government’s illegal deal. Now the public has every right to know about the deal.