India on Thursday said the controversy surrounding the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France had not affected the ties between the two countries.
“We continue to enjoy a very strong relationship with France. It is our strategic partner. I can say that this (Rafale controversy) has not impacted our relationship at all,” foreign ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told a questioner.
The Congress has alleged massive irregularities in the Rafale deal, saying the NDA government was procuring each aircraft for more than Rs 1,670 crore whereas its UPA predecessor had negotiated a Rs 526 crore-per-jet deal for the purchase of 126 aircraft. It has also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pressuring France into accepting Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as the offset partner for Rafale maker Dassault Aviation, bypassing the public-sector HAL.
The government claims it had no role in the selection of Reliance. French media reports have suggested that Dassault accepted Reliance as its partner as a trade-off for getting the deal, but the French company has denied it.