Why Eurofighter link with Congress party needs to be probed

[Mikesingh]

Arun Jaitley in the debate on Rafale deal in Lok Sabha made a very interesting reference about Eurofighter, aircraft was declared L2 by then UPA-2 Government and lost out to L1 bidder that was Dassault Rafale even though both aircraft had cleared technical and extensive flight performance trials of the Indian Air Force. Even though Dassault Rafale had won the deal fair and square,still there was lack of clear support by then-Defense minister A. K. Antony who allowed negotiation talks being dragged for years without any final contract on the procurement of the aircraft.

Jaitley clearly has hinted that there was considerable pressure on the then Defense Minister A. K. Antony to favor expensive Eurofighter bid which was backed by four founding nation of the aircraft,which includes UK and Italy which have history of corruption in previous defence deals with Gandhi family.

European consortium later even offered then UPA-2 Government Eurofighter Typhoon jet at a lower price then Dassault Rafale which could not have been accepted since it could have violated the whole tendering process and could have restarted the whole process again.

Any Sudden flip flop by then UPA-2 Government could have also raised doubts if Eurofighter selection was done amid some high-level compromise with the ruling family of that time?. Speculation in Indian media has been ripe that, Rahul Gandhi in his recent visit to European countries was approached by officials of the European consortium who are still very keen on securing orders for their aircraft under new tendering process under which 114 units will be procured with under Make in India initiatives.

The European consortium has maintained its silence on Rafale matter and is also not seen promoting its jet aggressively in India, like other vendors. Many Right-wing leaning Defence experts think it is a deliberate move to stay out of news and instead focus working behind the scene with power brokers in India. The European consortium even though have submitted their bid again and is also participating in the tender process for the purchase of 114 units, this time they have much better clarity on pricing that their rival Dassault has given in the previous deal and repeated congress charge for detail price breakdown will only help rivals who now can low ball on price to secure a deal with India, in-turn congress party is in directly helping some companies with whom they had some links . Interesting scenario of NDA-3 will be, what if European consortium is L1 bidder in new tender and somehow European consortium offers Eurofighter jets at cheaper rate? It will force NDA-3 to order Eurofighter jets or it will prefer buying Dassault Rafale at slightly higher cost?

Another dimension is that what if their is Power reshuffle in center in 2019 and Rahul Gandhi becomes Prime Minister and orders 36 Rafale deal to be canceled, biggest beneficiary could be European consortium which will get a level playing field since IAF is clearly backing Dassault Rafale and will not be keen on procuring another or different type of aircraft under new tender for 114 units.

http://idrw.org/why-eurofighter-link-with-congress-party-needs-to-be-probed/#more-189662

Now we know the probable reason why the UPA government wanted the Eurofighter instead of the Rafale and why the inordinate delay in consummating the contract.. We're screwed if the UPA comes to power. It would mean the cancellation of the Rafale deal and renegotiating the entire gamut once again resulting in another 5-7 years delay. Meanwhile the IAF continues to suffer. But this bloody politician-bureaucrat nexus driven by the dynasty cares a fig. It's the money that makes the mare go. The security of the country be damned!

 

[Armand2REP]

The only way Cong could get the money back is if they can prove bribery or some other breach of contract on behalf of Dassault. You can't just walk away from it without penalty. I can just see it now, Rahul Gandhi standing before the press saying we have cancelled Rafale as promised, now the French won't return all of the money.

 

[Rahul Singh]

I can just see it now, Rahul Gandhi standing before the press saying we have cancelled Rafale as promised, now the French won't return all of the money.

Only if he comes to power. Which he won't. He is referred to as a Mandbuddhi (half-retarded). No chance of Congress getting to power under him. So Just chill and wait for a repeat order of 36 more getting signed immediately after General Elections. As Modi is coming back.

 

[Prashant12]

Exclusive: Agusta papers reveal Christian Michel was also lobbying against Rafale to win deal for Eurofighter


Documents accessed by India Today TV have now revealed that two middlemen accused of getting kickbacks in the VVIP Agustawestland chopper deal, including Christian Michel, were strategising for Rafale's competitor Eurofighter, in order to seal the deal in its favour.

Christian Michel, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper deal, was also lobbying for Rafale's competitor. (Image: Reuters)
HIGHLIGHTS

• India released the request for proposal to buy 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in 2007 to six bidders
• Documents reveal Agusta middlemen Christian Michel and Guido Haschke made ‘strategy’ for Rafale’s prime competitor Eurofighter
• Rafale beat Eurofighter in the final evaluation process to qualify for MMRCA deal

On Wednesday in Lok Sabha during a discussion on the Rafale jet deal, when some Opposition members started throwing paper planes in the House, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made a pun and said, "I think these planes are being flown in the memory of Eurofighters".

In August 2007 when request for proposal (RFP) to buy 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) was released by India, France's Rafale was competing with five other fighter jets. By April 2011, following a complex evaluation and testing procedure of the Air Force, the final competition was reduced between two fighter jets, Dassault's Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon, from which Rafale was chosen over Eurofighter.

Documents accessed by India Today TV have now revealed that two middlemen accused of getting kickbacks in the VVIP Agustawestland chopper deal also strategised for Rafale's competitor Eurofighter in order to seal the deal in its favour.


A "strategy paper" seized during the raids at Italian middleman Guido Haschke's residence and offices has revealed that Christian Michel and Guido Haschke worked on a plan to place Rafale's prime competitor in the "win zone".

A need to engage "an in-country bureaucratical and political navigator" has also been mentioned in the documents.

"This man should have worked in the MOD and know well on first name basis and not just the MOD, key bureaucrats and the minister but also the PM, Finance Minister and the Leading Family," the document further reads.

The strategy paper allegedly prepared with consultation from Christian Michel and Guido Haschke further notes, "there are only 3 candidates for such a job and only one of the 3 is available".

While the strategy paper recovered from the Italian middleman talked about lobbying the politicians, a plan to lobby three Air Force officials is also mentioned as "the 3 bosses of maintenance must be lobbed i.e. Chief of Maintenance Command, Air Officer Maintenance and Chief of Engineering".

Christian Michel is currently in custody and is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his role in the AgustaWestland chopper deal case.

Guido Haschke is an Italian businessman who is also named as an accused in the chopper deal case. He served a brief sentence in Italy and became a witness following which a red corner notice against his name, which was issued on the request of India, was withdrawn by the Interpol.

Eurofighter is designed by a consortium of multinational defence companies from UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. Italian firm Finmeccanica which makes AgustaWestland choppers owns 21 per cent shares in the Eurofighter consortium.

A source familiar with the process told India Today TV, "This strategy paper was prepared in 2008 and was given for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) but it was not known if and to what extent the company used the services of these middlemen".

Michel and Haschke had a fallout after the signing of the VVIP chopper deal in 2010 while Rafale and Eurofighter were still competing to win the contract for 126 fighter jets.

It was only in 2012 that it was announced that Rafale had won the competition but the final deal could not be signed as negotiations continued. The NDA government later signed a deal with the French government to buy 36 Rafale fighter planes in a flyaway condition citing urgent requirements of the Air Force.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/sto...o-win-deal-for-eurofighter-1424921-2019-01-06