Adolf Hitler coined the term “groβe lüge” (“Big Lie” in German). The colossal falsehood in a 'Big Lie' makes it believable, because no one would think that the 'truth could be distorted so much and so preposterously'. Hitler went on to say: “The greater the lie, the easier (it is) to believe it.” Then again, repeating a 'big lie' often enough (to paraphrase Goebbels), makes people believe it!
The Nazis used the 'big lie' effectively, albeit cunningly, as a propaganda technique to promote bigotry and anti-semitism during the 1930s and 1940s. Looking at all the brouhaha raised over the “Rafale Deal”, it appears the Congress too has taken a leaf out of the Fascist book.
No Specific Scam Value
First
things first. Let us start with the a
priori
assumption that there indeed is a scam. If so, the question that begs
to be asked is: “What
is the estimated value of the alleged scam?”
Well,
Sri Rahul Gandhi has extensively tweeted about the deal over the last
year or so. In those tweets he has variously specified the scam
value, which has ranged from Rs.22,000 to Rs.130,000 crores. The
tweets put the scam at the average
of about Rs.65,000 crores.
Clearly,
it is a case of not “notional”, but “confusional losses”.
No Quid Pro Quo
Nonetheless,
the acquisition of Rafale fighters is through an Indo-French
governmental contract.
So
then, who has bribed whom? Is
Sri Gandhi insinuating that Government of India paid off officials in
the French Government? Or, did the French Government offer bribes to
bag the deal? If so, who were the beneficiaries of the kickbacks?
Either
hypothesis is atrociously ludicrous and in equal measure too, for,
there is no trace of either any money trail or any wrongful
gain/loss.
The
allegation is that the ADAG is a beneficiary by virtue of being an
offset partner. That theory
too is replete in absurdity...um, and hilarity!
I mean, where
is the proof of kickbacks
paid by the French Government to Anil Ambani? Oh, if the offset
partnership between Dassault and ADAG is supposedly the smoking gun
evidence, then there are 59 other partners vying for the spoils.
Besides, there
are apparently over 20 other partnerships on the anvil being hammered
by the three main manufacturers of the Rafale fighter, namely,
Dassault, Safran and Thales.
Offset Business Partnerships
The
offset
partners competing for about Rs.21,000 crores of business are
all well known, legitimate entities
in the Indian aerospace sector and related industrial landscape. Many
of the selected partners are listed companies; others are Indian
subsidiaries of multinational corporations; and, a few are public
sector undertakings and their subsidiaries.
On
top, Dassault is contractually bound to award offset
contracts worth Rs.9,000 crores to the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO).
The
deal will surely revitalise the Indian aerospace industry.
Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) Selection
As
is well-known, six companies, namely, Boeing (F/A-18E/F Super
Hornet); Dassault Aviation (Rafale); EADS (Eurofighter Typhoon);
Lockheed Martin (F-16 Fighting Falcon); Russian Aircraft (MiG-35);
and Saab Group (JAS 39 Gripen), were in the fray for supplying MRCA
aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF). None of these six aircraft
qualified in toto on the stringent Air Staff Qualitative
Requirements (ASQR) specifications. Thereafter, the IAF short-listed
the Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale based on laboratory
presentations and rejected the other fighter aircraft.
Finally
the Rafale was selected with India-specific enhancements. Then the
Government of India, that is, the UPA-II led by the Congress Party,
carried out exclusive negotiations with Dassault. Shouldn't too
eye-brows be raised then about this process? Why were negotiations
not carried out with Eurofighter Typhoon? And, the obvious coup de
grâce:
Did
any UPA functionaries receive kickbacks for selecting the Rafale?
Hope we get some answers.
Bofors Bribery Scandal
In
the 1980s, teams of the Indian Army evaluated the field howitzers of
four manufacturers (from United Kingdom, France, Austria and Sweden).
The Swedish gun fared poorly in field trials, firing only upto
a distance in the 11-21 km range, against the technical specification
of 30 km. Hence, in the three reports submitted, the Bofors 155mm
Howitzers was ranked “Second”, at best, and,
“Fourth/Last”, at worst, among the contenders.
In
spite of the outright rejection, the then Defence Minister, Sri. R.
Venkataraman chose Bofors.
Why?
Well...the
Bofors Deal (unlike the instant Rafale Purchase) involved middlemen.
On top, a whistleblower inside Bofors revealed details of the
kickbacks amounting to Rs.64 crores. Later, information
about the money trail too emerged
(leading to Swiss bank accounts).
Bungled Investigation and Prosecution
Despite
the mountain of evidence, the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) botched up investigations badly. Deliberately so, as it
seems!
Not
only the registration of FIR, but also submission of rogatories were
delayed. An Italian businessman and the main Accused in the bribery
scandal, Quattrocchi was allowed to escape to Malaysia. Later,
the Interpol Red Corner Notice
against him was later withdrawn. Further,
Quattrocchi's bank account in London was allowed to be de-frozen
and a weak case for his extradition was made out in
Argentinian Courts. Neither was the Argentinian verdict in the
extradition proceedings nor the judgment of the Delhi High Court in
2004 appealed on.
Rafale Deal: A Complete Contrast
The
Rafale acquisition is poles apart from the Bofors purchase! The
direct involvement of Government of India sans middlemen; lack
of any money trail; procurement of the aircraft rated numero uno;
the hard bargain struck on offset credits; absence of any
credible whistle-blower...all make the Rafale deal clean as
a whistle!
Conclusion: #NoRafaleScam
Thus,
Sri. Rahul Gandhi's claims of a scam seem like a “red
herring” engulfed in smoke and mirrors! And, that smoke is
devoid of not only fire, but also firewood! No wonder then that the
Hon'ble Supreme Court (SC) and the Comptroller and Auditor General
(CAG) have given the purchase clean chits. Therefore, accusations
of a scam in the Rafale acquisition is a figment of imagination,
or rather, politically-motivated imputation!
Every
time Sri Gandhi alleges a scam, he implies that all of Prime
Minister's Office, Apex Court, Ministry of Defence, CAG, IAF, Defence
Acquisition Council, Indian Negotiating Team (of Rafale), etc., are
all lying. Hence, the more he flogs the dead horse of a scam, the
more foolish, hollow and sinister he looks and sounds!
But
then, as Machiavelli put it, “politics have no relation to
morals”.
