New Delhi: The deal struck by the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the purchase of 36 French Rafale fighter jets was cheaper than the one negotiated by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report said Wednesday, but Congress president Rahul Gandhi called it a “cover up” that had concealed costs and the time it would take to deliver the aircraft.
The report, tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, is seen as a shot in the arm for the government just a few weeks before the Election Commission (EC) is to announce the schedule for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It also comes after a clean chit given by the Supreme Court, but Gandhi repeated charges of corruption against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, indicating the opposition will continue to highlight the Rafale deal in the run-up to the general elections due by May.
