Chronology of events in the Rafale fighter jets story
History of course is created on July 29, 2020:
5 Rafale Fighter planes arrive Ambala airbase
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| George Fernandes: Def Minister in 2002 |
(taking clock back.....)
-Dec 30, 2002: Defence Procurement Procedures (DPP) of Defence Ministry under Vajpayee
decided to streamline process
-Aug 28, 2007: Ministry of Defence issues Request for Proposal for procurement of 126 MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) fighters
-Sep 4, 2008: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group incorporates Reliance Aerospace Technologies Ltd (RATL)
-May 2011: Air Force short-lists Rafale and Eurofighter jets
-Jan 30, 2012: Dassault Aviation’s Rafale aircraft comes up with the lowest bid
-Mar 13, 2014: Work Share agreement signed between HAL and Dassault Aviation under which they were responsible for 70 per cent and 30 per cent of the work, respectively, for 108 aircraft
In February 2014, defence minister A K Antony said that the procedure of calculation of life-cycle cost was being re-examined and the contract could not be signed in the fiscal year 2013-14 due to budgetary constraints.[ In March 2014, HAL and Dassault signed a work share agreement to manage licensed manufacture
-Aug 8, 2014: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley (under Modi 1.0) tells Parliament that 18 direct ‘fly-away’ aircraft expected to be delivered in 3-4 years. Remaining 108 aircraft to be delivered in the next seven years
-Apr 8, 2015: The then foreign secretary says detailed discussions underway between Dassault, MoD and HAL
-Apr 10: New deal for acquisition of 36 direct ‘fly-away’ aircraft from France announced
-Jan 26, 2016: India and France sign MoU for 36 Rafale aircraft
-Sep 23: Inter-governmental agreement signed
-Nov 18: Government states in Parliament that the cost of each Rafale aircraft to be (approx) Rs 670 crore and all aircraft to be delivered by April 2022
-Dec 31, 2016: Dassault Aviation’s Annual Report reveals the actual price paid for the 36 aircraft at about Rs 60,000 crore, more than double the government’s stated price in Parliament
-Mar 13, 2018: PIL in Supreme Court seeks independent probe into Centre’s decision to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France and disclosure of the cost involved in the deal before Parliament
PIL by Congress leader Tehseen S Poonawalla, brother in law of Robert Vadra, says SC should Direct the respondents (Centre and Def. Ministry) to "disclose a consolidate transaction cost" involved in procuring 36 Rafale fighter aircraft.
-Sep 5: Supreme Court agrees to hear PIL seeking stay on Rafale fighter jet deal
-Oct 8: SC agrees to hear on October 10 fresh PIL seeking direction to Centre to file in ‘sealed cover’ the details of the agreement for buying 36 Rafale fighter jets
-Oct 10: Apex Court asks Centre to provide details of decision making process in the Rafale fighter jet deal in a sealed cover
-Oct 24: Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan move Supreme Court seeking registration of FIR into Rafale fighter jet deal
(They also sought a direction to the CBI to investigate the offences mentioned in their complaint in a “time-bound” manner.
-- The complaint was filed on October 4, 2018 with the CBI after their meeting with CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma. In a late night development, Verma was directed by the Centre to proceed on leave in the wake of his tussle with second-in-command in CBI, Rakesh Asthana)
-Oct 31: SC asks Centre to place it in sealed cover within 10 days the pricing details of 36 Rafale fighter jets
-Nov 12: Centre places price details of 36 Rafale fighter jets in a sealed cover before SC.
-Nov 14: SC reserves judgement on pleas seeking court-monitored probe in Rafale deal
-Dec 14: SC says there is "no occasion" to doubt the decision-making process of the Modi government and dismisses all the petitions seeking direction to the CBI to register an FIR for alleged irregularities in the jet deal
-Jan 2, 2019: Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Bhushan move SC seeking review of its December 14 judgement
On January 4, 2019: Lok Sabha debated Rafale issue in details.Representing government, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman blasted at Rahul Gandhi and Congress party.
"You stopped the [Rafale] deal, forgetting Air Force was suffering. You didn't conclude the deal, because it didn't suit you. The deal didn't get you money." - Nirmala
Sitharaman also hit back at Gandhi's accusation saying - "Have you [Rahul Gandhi] apologised after having winked an eye at PM, after hugging the PM? This is not the way a House should run....I don't have a khandaan (family) to boast of. The prime minister also comes from a poor background. He has come here from hard work. I have my honour intact. PM has his honour intact. We have all come from normal backgrounds."
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| Nirmala and Sushma with US counterparts in 2018 |
-Feb 26: SC agrees to hear review petitions in open court
-Mar 13: Govt tells SC that documents filed by review petitioners are sensitive to national security
-Apr 10: Supreme Court dismisses Centre’s objection claiming privilege over documents by petitioners to seek review
-Apr 12: BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi moves SC against Rahul Gandhi for wrongly attributing his ‘chowkidar chor hai’ remarks on Rafale to the apex court
-Apr 23: SC issues contempt notice to Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on Rafale verdict
-May 8: Gandhi tenders unconditional apology in SC
-May 10: SC reserves verdict on review pleas and contempt petition
-Nov 14: SC dismisses review pleas against its verdict in the Rafale deal, rejects contention that there was need for registration of an FIR in connection with the procurement of 36 fighter jets from French firm Dassault Aviation
Supreme Court also closes contempt plea against Rahul Gandhi.
July 27, 2020
Five Rafale planes fly from Paris ---- to reach India on July 29 (via UAE)
"India took a significant step in strengthening air power and defence preparedness with the first five Rafale fighter aircraft, built by Dassault, flying out from Merignac airbase in Bordeaux, France to India today, July 27," said an official statement from the Indian embassy in Paris.
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