The Supreme Court dismisses petitions looking for a court-monitored probe into the Indo-French contract last week. There was a previous UPA-era contract for 126 Rafale jets, all but 18 of which were imaginary to be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The current NDA deal is for 36 "flyaway" jets and requires jet maker Dassault Aviation to advance in India by tying up with Indian companies."I am not going to comment on the decision but the Supreme Court has given a very fine decision. It has also said that this plane is badly needed."
One of the firms selected by Dassault was Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence, and the Congress has supposed that it was chosen under pressure from the Modi government.
Today, Veerappa Moily was quoted as saying that according to government records, the Defence Ministry and the Air Force chief wanted HAL to be occupied. The "IAF chief at that time" visited HAL with Dassault, establish it capable and that it had the capability, he said.
Soon after news of Moily's comments broke, BJP leaders took aim at the Congress. "Congress the only spreader of truth?" asked Amit Malviya, a top party official. "For them, it's always family first," said Suresh Nakhua, a spokesperson for the BJP's Mumbai unit.
A senior defense editor said on Twitter that Veerappa Moily's comments had caused "complete outrage" at the Air Headquarters.
