rafale deal

France will solely finance the upgraded F5 fighter jet program after UAE negotiations collapsed due to a lack of local industry involvement and technology access. This decision comes as France faces increasing defense pressures and competing priorities, highlighting Paris's commitment to maintaining sovereign control over its Rafale program.

"The deal to buy 36 state-of-the-art Rafale aircraft from France at 12 billion dollar (Rs 80000 cr) was re-negotiated and finalised at $8.8 billion (around Rs 59000 cr)," a tweet by BJP said.

Ruling out referring the rafale deal to a parliamentary panel, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday launched a blistering attack on the Congress, calling it "bad losers" and said the CAG's view of the deal is not relevant after the Supreme Court's clean chit.

The government rejected on Wednesday Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s demand for a JPC on the rafale deal, with finance minister Arun Jaitley hitting out at the opposition leader, saying a parliamentary probe cannot be set up to satisfy the ego of “an ill-informed gentleman”.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released a video "rafale deal for dummies" to take a dig at Congress charges on the rafale deal. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been persistent in his attack over the rafale deal and the secrecy maintained over the same by the BJP government. The video attempts to explain the rafale deal and in the process mock at the charges levelled against the pact.

Gadkari's remarks came a day after the Congress accused the Narendra Modi government of "compromising" on national security and causing a loss of Rs 12,632 crore to the state exchequer on account of purchase of 36 Rafale jets under the inter-governmental deal.

The development comes nearly four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande signed a memorandum of agreement to purchase 36 Rafale combat jets.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has issued a notice under rule 357 to speak on the rafale deal in Parliament today, reported Times Now. His party has long demanded answers on the inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

Accusing Rahul Gandhi of crossing the limits of civility by linking the rafale deal with infighting among the top two in the CBI and the prime minister, BJP on Thursday said the Congress president’s claims would not wash as his deceitful and misleading arguments had no basis in fact.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday reiterated his allegations of corruption in the Rafale defence deal signed with the French government and challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a debate over the details of the deal.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday rejected finance minister Arun Jaitley's argument against a JPC probe into the rafale deal, saying the government and Parliament have overruled Supreme Court verdicts in the past, most recently in the SC/ST Act.

A day after the BJP claimed the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets had been "finalized", with the Modi government managing to save over Rs 21,000 crore in the "re-negotiation" with the French government, defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday virtually rubbished the statement.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hit back at Gandhi after the Congress president alleged that there was "clear-cut" corruption in the rafale deal and asked the prime minister to clear his position on the issue. He also ruled out a joint parliamentary committee probe saying it cannot be done to satisfy the ego of an "ill-informed leader".

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him "the master of corruption" and said that she supported the views of the Congress on the rafale deal.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, alleging that the "theft" committed by "our watchman" in the rafale deal had even put the French government in trouble.

"The corruption and malfeasance in rafale deal is out in the open. PM Modi misused his office to give benefits to Dassault Aviation and caused loss to the public exchequer," said Randeep Surjewala. He added that it is a case under Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988."Time has now come to register an FIR against PM Modi,"he said.

India's Air Force is set to significantly boost its capabilities by concluding major contracts in FY 2026-27. These include deals for 114 Rafale fighter jets, up to 60 medium transport aircraft, and additional airborne early warning systems. The increased capital budget will fund these crucial acquisitions and ongoing modernization efforts.