Arun Jaitley dismisses report of price escalation in Rafale deal as 'fudged arithmetic'

Dismissing a news report of price escalation in the Rafale deal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said it was based on "fudged arithmetic". In a series of tweets, the minister said the Supreme Court has examined the prices and the CAG is examining the same. "The new article on Rafale is based on fudged arithmetic - ignore the escalation of the 2007 non-deal offer and compare it with the 2016 price and invent a scam," he said.

The new Article on Rafale is based on fudged arithmetic - ignore the escalation of the 2007 non-deal offer and compare it with the 2016 price and invent a scam.

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) January 18, 2019

"The fudged arithmetic of a compulsive contrarian can hardly be objective... Fudged arithmetics does not add to the credibility of its creator," he said.

Jaitley's comments came after a report in 'The Hindu' claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to buy 36 aircraft instead of the 126 asked for by the Indian Air Force pushed the price of each jet up by 41.42 per cent.

The minister said the 2007 escalation offer was much larger than 2016 agreed escalation for the Rafale jet deal. "The price differential would widen with each subsequent supply," he added.