Ex-Defence Minister Antony Created Hurdles In Rafale Deal, Says CM Manohar Parrikar

PANAJI: Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar said here on Saturday that A K Antony, who served as the defence minister in the UPA regime, had created hurdles in clearing the file for purchase of Rafale fighter aircraft for the Air Force.

Parrikar, the defence minister at the time of Rafale deal, said Antony, who was also called a saint, had made a strange noting on the file.

"He had noted to start the discussion, finalise the price and after everything is finished to come back to him with all documentary evidence as to how Rafale was the lowest bidder. Now, the CVC guideline says you cannot negotiate with anyone other than the lowest bidder. So, if you have identified the lowest bidder, you can negotiate with them. But how do you negotiate with someone and then prove that was the lowest," he said, after releasing a book related to surgical strikes.

Parrikar said Antony's strange noting had ensured that the file just went around in circles. "It was going around like an LP stuck in a particular groove and the same sentence is repeated time and again. For two-and-a-half years, the file was going around in circles. We broke the circle by deciding to approach it differently for the defence of the country," he said.

Dismissing Congress' criticism of him and for trying to make Rafale deal a poll issue for the Gujarat elections, Parrikar said: "I realised that these people don't know anything about defence. A fighter aircraft is not only an aircraft. The aircraft is probably the smaller part of the total cost. The real cost comes in special equipment. In India, we discuss fighter aircraft purchases like we discuss Tur Dal or Moong Dal prices."

Defence has an important role to play in foreign diplomacy and is an important component of any government's relations with international community, he said.

"Hard power and soft power played through diplomacy can gain momentum only if the hard power is very strong. I am proud to be a part of the team which was part of the surgical team in eastern and western boarders of India," he said.

Giving a glimpse into the surgical strikes preparations, he said it was planned with mobile phones switched off and kept at least 20m away so that there were no leaks.

"I am very proud to say that I must have had between Uri attack and the actual (surgical) strike, something like 18-19 meetings, which included number of Army top brass and also the officials of defence ministries, but nothing leaked out. Even flying some officers to foreign capital make on-the-spot purchases was not leaked," he said.

Recalling what his mother told him, Parrikar said: "My mother used to tell me this proverb: When you enter a jungle to hunt for a rabbit, you should be prepared for a lion."

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