Rafale deal was scrapped by UPA, as Vadra was not getting commission: BJP spokesperson
On Tuesday, September 25, 2018 BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that UPA government scrapped the Rafale deal after years of negotiations because Robert Vadra, Son-in-Law of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, was not getting his commission.
BJP leader said that Dassault Aviation, the maker of Rafale fighter jet, refused to offset the project to the company of Vadra’s friend and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.
Patra claimed that documents related to deal negotiations were found during a raid in 2016, which include the first class air tickets to Munich and photographs of a flat in London that were offered to Vadra by Bhandari for finalizing the deal.
Patra told media in Delhi that “Bhandari, who has close links with Vadra, formed a company named Offset India Solutions (OIS) in 2008 and he formed a joint venture with Rafaut as he tried to enter into an offset clause in the Rafale fighter jets deal through the back door”.
Rafale documents were recovered from Robert Vadra’s close friend Sanjay Bhandari during a raid in 2016 at his house, how did these confidential documents reach there? Bhandari’s company ‘offset India solutions’ was red flagged in 2014 by Modi Govt: Sambit Patra,BJP pic.twitter.com/jqX4MlxGCh
— ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2018
He said, “But when Dassault verified the infrastructure of OIS, it found that they did not have the required criteria. It also found Bhandari’s links with Vadra. So Dassault became adamant and they made it clear that they do not want to enter into any kind of deal with the OIS”.
He added, “And this was the reason why the Rafale deal was then scrapped after years of negotiations as Vadra was not getting the commission out of the deal”.
BJP leader further added, “When the BJP government came to power in 2014, investigations started against Bhandari and during raids at 18 places in 2016 including the premises of Bhandari, a lot of classified documents were recovered”.
Patra alleged that Vadra’s friend offered him a flat in London as bribe, he said, “In an email it was revealed that Bhandari’s relative Chahdha paid Rs 19 crore for a flat in London for Vadra”.
Patra warned for legal against Vadra, he said, “The government has acted against Bhandari as per law. And today we are saying that Vadra also would not be spared”.