Rafale deal will end up in arbitration: Congress MP Sunil Jakhar

The Rafale fighter jet deal will end up in arbitration, which will be the biggest arbitration case after the one on the Bhopal gas tragedy, Congress MP Sunil Jakhar claimed on Friday.

Participating on debate in the Lok Sabha on the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, Jakhar also alleged that businessmen close to the government had got their companies registered in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) just days before the deal was clinched.

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“The Minister should inform the House why this (Rafale fighter jet) deal will not end up in arbitration seat? Whether the Rafale deal will end up in arbitration seat in India or the Hague?

“... This will be the biggest arbitration after the Bhopal gas tragedy,” he claimed.

Earlier in the day, the Congress member had created a flutter in the Lok Sabha, saying “I can make a better Rafale (fighter aircraft), please give me the contract.”

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He had made this caustic remark attacking the BJP-led government while waiving a paper replica of the fighter aircraft during the Zero Hour, when Congress members were in the Well raising slogans on the issue.

In his speech later, Jakhar also wondered how India’s Foreign Secretary did not know about the Rafale deal but the companies knew about it. “This is a breach of the Official Secrets Act,” he charged.

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The Congress members, who were earlier in the Well raising slogans alleging corruption in the Rafale jet deal, had later walked out of the House.