Rafale- Modi’s excuse to Indian Air Force Failure

 

By C. Andrew

Indian PM Modi during “Indai today Conclave” said that “if India had Rafale Jets; recent outcomes of India- Pakistan would have been different”. He, in order to keep the situation charged up in the backdrop of Indian aggression and robust response from Pakistan, criticized the opposition leaders specially Rahul Gandhi for creating controversy on Rafale aircraft deal and said “at present, we continue to suffer due to the politicization of Rafale deal. The vested interests and politicization has caused great harm to the nation’s interest. In response to Modi’s taunt on Rafale aircraft, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has alleged Modi of being ”solely responsible” for the delay in the arrival of Rafale jets. Rahul Gandhi has tweeted that “Dear PM, have you no shame at all ? YOU stole 30,000 crore and gave it to your friend Anil. YOU are solely responsible for the delay in the arrival of the RAFFALE Jets”

It is to refresh that Rafale deal, widely discussed in international as well as Indian media, is an agreement between India and France signed at the government level for procurement of 36 Medium Multi Role combat aircrafts(MRCA) jet fighters built by French defence manufacturer Dassault. The deal has its genesis in a proposal put forth during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2000 for procurement of advance jet fighters as part of modernization of Indian Air Force. The procurement process was initiated by the Manmohan Singh government in 2007. The next United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government zeroed it in 2012 and a new deal was inked with Dassult for 126 MRCAs. That deal was scrapped by the Narendra Modi government after it came to power in 2015, he made an announcement that the deal had been reworked and a fresh agreement was on. Finally, the deal was signed an inter-government agreement with France, dubbed as “Rafale Deal” , in which India would reportedly pay about 58,000 Crore or 7.8 billion Euros for 36 Off-the-shelf Dassult Rafale twin engine fighters. About 15 per cent of this cost is being paid in advance. As per deal, India will also get spares and weaponry including the meteor missile.

Here is a question arises why Modi scrapped the early deal of UPA government which was comparatively more beneficial for India. It is argued in Indian media that the reason is Ambani. Within less than 2 weeks after Dassault bagged India’s 126 MMRCS deal, Mukesh Ambani became Dassault’s partner. So did Anil Ambani, afterwards. Now Dassault, which was ready to provide 126 Rafales at USD 10.2Billion, 18 ready to fly and 108 to be made in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), asked additional money foe weapon system and technology transfer stretching the deal from 10.2 Billion to USD 14-18 Billion. Not only this, they also refused to provide any guarantee for planes made by HAL. In short, they broke every single clause, rider in the original contract. There are numerous stories in the media about these escalated prices. The figure quoted by Defence  Minister Parrikar is very strange. Speaking to Doordarshan on April 13, 2015, Parrikar had revealed Rafale’s bid for 126 fighters, stating; “When you talk of 126 (Rafale) aircraft, it becomes a purchase of about 90,000 Crores’-Rs 715 Crores per fighter after adding all cost.” Parrikar had escalated the deal from 10.2 Billion USD to 14 billion USD (Rs 90,000) Crores without any apparent reason. And, merely a month later, on May 31, 2015, Parrikar was quoted as saying “the UPA deal for 126 fighters was too expensive and it would have hampered other modernization plans of Indian military. The deal would have required around 1.3 lakh Crores over a period of 10-11 years, he added.” Very suspicious, an already escalated figure of 90,000 Crore for the deal merely a month ago had suddenly become 20 USD Billion now, almost 50 % increase in 50 days, for no rhyme or reason. Was the Modi government merely feeling these figures and lying to the media to justify its grounds for the renegotiation?

When the Dassault entered the bid, it had no leverage and much to lose if it did not get the bid. Dassault was desperate, its reputation of being non-transparent in its business (rates worst-F Band by Transparency international) was not helping it much and Dassult’s CEO himself was caught up in charges of financial irregularities. But Dassault-Ambani partnership changed everything. Now Ambani who controlled most of the politicians, thus controlled the government itself, was Dassault’s partner. So Dassult-Ambani started arm twisting Indian government to get the most out of the deal. Read about Ambai’s Gas Scams to know about his arm-twisting prowess. Thankfully, it was not that easy. A first whiff of corruption, the defence Minister of UPA at the time, AK Antony- considered as honest politician, stopped serious negotiation, delaying the deal. So Dassault-Ambani had to wait for more tham two years until Modi became PM. It is to notify that Modi ambani unholy nexus is not a secret anymore. So as soon Modi had an opportunity, he ractified the deal that is most disadvantageous to India and most profitablr to Dassault-Ambani. Modi not only single handedly took this decision, without even getting formal cabinet in confidence and also kept Defence Minister Parrikar himself in dark. It has been said that Modi’s top guns Jaitley, Parrikar etc are not happy with Modi’s deal. Subramaniam Swami of BJP has publically spoken against and written a letter to Modi to stop the deal. No one is talking about it, because most of Indian mrdia had been reduced to Modi’s cheerleaders.

It can be said that procurement deal for 36 Rafale fighter has become a mega corruption scam as lack of “sovereign guarantee”. Issue has created a puzzling situation for Modi’s government as there is no government-to-government guarantee extended to the deal by the French government. In the wake of new revelations and lack of “sovereign guarantee” objection, Modi government’s Rafale aircraft deal has become a Real Nightmare for Modi (who is also accused of bypassing official procedure in inking the deal). Moreover, Indian opposition is also gearing up efforts to launch fresh onslaught against Modi. Reportedly, a French legal organization that examines the illicit financial flow, has filed a corruption complain over the controversial Rafale deal with France’s national financial prosecutor’s office. By filliping the issue of Rafale aircraft deal, Indain PM has admitted incapability of Indian Air Force for any ear/conflict. Moreover, Modi has raised the doubts about the preparedness, training etc of IAF. Such utterances from the mouth of top leadership of the country are demoralizing for the IAF, which has been politicized and forced to wage a “political war” of desperate Modi who wants to win the Lok Sabha elections at any cost. As Modi is under pressure from the opposition over the extravagant price of Rafale aircraft deal, his filliping of the issue and scathing attack against opposition is another mischievous attempt to befool Indian public and politician under the shield of Modi instigated situation of ultra nationalism (I;e war mongering hysterics against Pakistan).

India: Pakistan won the war of information

LONDON – Indian Lt Gen (retd) Ata Hasnain, former Corps Commander Northern Command, has admitted that Pakistan won the war of information.

Addressing a British think-tank at Institute of Strategic Studies on Thursday, he said that the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had defeated India in the information field.

US lobbying hard for success of war rhetoric Indian PM Modi at the cost of Pakistan

UNITED NATIONS - The United States (US) is pushing to put Masood Azhar on the United Nations (UN) sanctions blacklist more to boost Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s electoral chances than the merits of the case, according to several diplomats following the developments at the UN.

“It’s seems the US wants to use this ploy as a gift to Modi as he faces challenges in his bid for re-election,” a senior diplomat said. Modi, he said, had lost on the military front, but the US effort is now aimed at improving his domestic image on the diplomatic side.

Indian state terrorism forcing educated Kashmiris to take up guns against India: International media report

ISLAMABAD - A report published in Washington Post says the Indian brutalities in occupied Kashmir have forced Kashmiri scholars and educated youth to take up arms against the Indian state terrorism.

The report said the number of young Kashmiris turning to the armed struggle is growing.

Pulwama; India’s false Flag Operation in Kashmir, Danger of Nuclear War?

By Sajjad Shaukat

At least 44 Indian soldiers were killed in the Pulwama district of the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) on February 14, this year when a suicide bomber rammed a car into a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Next day, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed Pakistan for the Pulwama terror attack and warned of a strong response, ratcheting up tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

New Delhi also removed the most favored nation (MFN) trade privileges that had been accorded to Pakistan-though annual bilateral trade between the two countries. Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility soon after the assault. Without any investigation and evidence Indian high officials and media started accusing Islamabad, saying that the attackers had come from Pakistan to stage the assault. The Indian foreign ministry said in a statement, “We demand that Pakistan stop supporting terrorists and terror groups operating from their territory and dismantle the infrastructure operated by terrorist outfits to launch attacks in other countries.”

Speaking in the Indian tone and remaining silence on the CIA-Mossad-RAW anti-Pakistan secret terror-network in Afghanistan, the White House also shared Indian blame game, urging Pakistan “to end immediately the support and safe haven provided to all terrorist groups operating on its soil”. On the other side, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We have always condemned acts of violence anywhere in the world…We strongly reject any insinuation by elements in the Indian media and government that seek to link the attack to Pakistan without investigations.” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Quereshi also rejected Indian false allegations. Speaking to the Indian media, former Chief Minister of the Indian Held Kashmir Farooq Abdullah stated: “I was saddened to hear about the deaths of the soldiers. This is not something happening for the first time. These incidents happen everyday there…India should talk with Kashmiris, because using the force of guns and army is not the solution…Don’t blame Pakistan because local people are joining Kashmiri fight” [War of liberation].

Meanwhile, on February 21, 2018, India was humiliated once again at the diplomatic level when Pakistan’s name was not mentioned in the declaration by the UN Security Council condemning Pulwama attack. New Delhi tried everything possible to involve Pakistan’s name in the statement and tried to use American influence as well. Multiple countries were briefed in New Delhi regarding the attack. However, various contradictory developments and reports proved that Pulwama terror attack was a false flag operation, conducted by New Delhi to malign Islamabad in order to obtain various designs. In this regard, quoting the report of the daily Kashmir Times of September 10, 2017, Pakistan’s media and even some leading newspapers of India revealed that the Indian drama was exposed after the disclosure that the alleged suicide attacker of the Pulwama attack Adil Ahmed Dar was already in the custody of the Indian army. “The Indian army had arrested Adil Ahmed Dar during an operation in Shopian on September 10, 2017… It is a big question that how he carried out the suicide attack when he was already in the custody of Indian army.”

Blindly alleging Pakistan, some Indian newspapers, especially India Today wrote: “Intelligence agencies in Jammu and Kashmir believe Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed commander-Ghazi Abdul Rasheed is the mastermind behind the gruesome Pulwama terror attack that rocked the nation on February 14. He is one of the closest aides of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azha.” It is notable that religious cleric Abdul Rasheed Ghazi was killed in 2007 during the Lal Masjid operation in Islamabad, launched by the then President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

It is of particular attention that Indian Prime Minister Modi’s extremist party-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had got a land sliding triumph in the Indian elections 2014 on the basis of anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan slogans. Therefore, since the Prime Minister Modi came to power, he has been implementing anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan agenda with the support of fanatic coalition outfits. Now, double game has become the BJP strategy to win the Indian general elections 2019. In this respect, BJP leadership seems to have geared up its activity for forthcoming poll-2019. Hence, suicide assault of Pulwama which is false flag operation is also election stunt of the BJP. In the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, across India, many Kashmiri people, including students have been arrested and attacked and their shops looted by the Hindu extremists. Young people have been charged with sedition for criticizing the Indian Army, and Indians are lashing out at Pakistani civilians, including Bollywood actors. A wave of jingoism has been created by the BJP-led fanatic parties against the Muslims and Pakistan.

It is mentionable that on September, 2016, New Delhi had staged the drama of the terror attack in the IOK at a military base in Uri, close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan. After the episode, without any investigation, India’s top civil and military officials, including their media started propaganda against Pakistan, it Army and primary intelligence agency ISI by accusing that the militants who targeted the Uri base came from Pakistan’s side of Azad Kashmir.

In fact, failed in suppressing the indigenous Kashmir movement, Indian central government imposed President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir which began from December 20, 2018. The main purpose is to accelerate atrocities on the Kashmiris who are demanding their genuine right of self-determination in accordance with the UNO resolutions. Besides, India’s another aim is to deflect the attention of the international community from the new phase of Kashmiri Intifada, while in this connection; pressure has been mounting on the Modi government both domestically and internationally to settle the dispute of Kashmir with Islamabad. While, New Delhi is still showing its intransigence to resolve Kashmir issue by also neglecting the fact that Kashmir remains a nuclear flashpoint between both the neighbouring countries.

Nevertheless, taking cognizance of Indian blame game and war-like posture, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said on February 19, this year, that Pakistan will take action, if New Delhi shares any actionable evidence, concerning the suicide bombing in the occupied Kashmir’s Pulwama area which targeted Indian paramilitary soldiers. Offering cooperation and another chance at a dialogue over the Kashmir issue, the premier also warned India against any act of aggression, saying Pakistan will not hesitate in retaliating to a provocation. But, Indian extremist government of the BJP rejected any cooperation in this respect, and has continued threatening diplomacy against Islamabad.

Following Indian war-like strategy, Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 21, 2019 chaired a key meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) attended by Pakistan’s Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, services chiefs, heads of intelligence agencies, security officials and the concerned federal ministers—during which the country’s security situation was discussed, amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack. NSC said that the country was not involved in any way in the Pulwama terror attack and it was conceived, planned and executed indigenously, as Prime Minister Imran Khan authorised the military to respond decisively to any aggression by India.

It is worth-mentioning that at present, fanatic leaders are in power in the US, India and Israel and they are in collaboration against the Muslims, Islamic World, Russia and China. And it is also part of Zionist agenda to ‘denuclearize Pakistan’, as she is the only nuclear country in the Muslim World.

Notably, Israel does not want the two-state settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian issue and will prefer atomic war between the US and Russia. Similarly, in order to avoid the solution of Kashmir dispute, extremist Prime Minister Modi can take the risk of nuclear war with Pakistan.

In these terms, we may conclude that Pulwama terror attack was a false flag operation, conducted by the Indian security forces to crush the war of liberation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and to implicate Islamabad in this regard. So, in wake of India’s war-like threats, danger of nuclear war remains between India and Pakistan, as even a conventional conflict can result into an atomic war.

MEMORY OF THE SAMJHOTA EXPRESS TREGDY

Swami Aseemanand

On the midnight of 18-19 February 2007, India-Pakistan Samjhota Express train was bombed in which 68 Pakistani nationals were killed. A Hindu extremist leader Swami Aseemanand, a leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has confessed that he was involved in several bombings incidents. He also claimed to have been a part of the incident. In fact, ideology of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) prevails in every field at the cost of other minority groups. It is even supported by Indian defense forces secretly. This could be judged from the incident, when on April 6, 2008 in the house of Bajrang Dal fundamentalists in Nanded, a bomb went off. The investigation proved that these militants were found in the bomb-making and attack on a mosque in Parbhani in 2003. Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra arrested a serving Lt. Col. Srikant Purohit along with other army officials, indicating that they were helping in training the Hindu terrorists, providing them with the military-grade explosive RDX, used in the Malegaon bombings and terrorist attacks in other Indian cities. ATS further disclosed that Lt. Col. Purohit confessed that in 2007, he was involved in bombing of Samjhota express, which burnt alive 68 Pakistanis.

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) was convinced that Sadhu Swami Aseemanand, a Hindu right-wing leader was directly involved in the Samjhota Express blast. Sources in NIA further pointed out that besides Lt. Col. Purohit, other Indian army officials were also behind that train-bombing. In this regard, a court in Panchkula, Haryana has recorded Aseemanand’s statement which confirmed the NIA inquiry. Aseemanand’s statement in the Samjhota Express blast case was recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before a magistrate. His earlier admission was recorded in the Mecca Masjid case, which was being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Sadhu Aseemanand stuck to his confession that Hindutva radicals were behind the bomb attack on the Samjhota Express. Aseemanand, Aka Naba and Kumar Sarkar, named absconding Hindutva militants—Ramji Kaisangra and Sandeep Dange as the key plotters in that terror attack.

Sources of the NIA also disclosed that the confession in connection with the Samjhota Express blast practically rules out the involvement of other groups. In the Samjhota Express case, the probe team has found that the bomb used in the train was kept in a suitcase that was bought from a shop of Indore’s Kothari Market. The suitcase had cloth covers stitched by an Indian local tailor. The NIA was now trying to get details of those who bought the suitcase and covers. It is notable that Dr. J C Batra, who is a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India, was asked to give opinion on Aseemanand’s confession. He appeared very defensive and as usual started accusing Pakistan’s its primary intelligence agency ISI—its so-called history for such activities, alleging that even this could be an ISI plot. He further said that Swami’s statement does not have much legal value as circumstantial evidence is also needed, while adding that RSS is being wrongly implicated and there could be others involved who are not being exposed. In this respect, a Pakistani parliamentarian, Mr. Mian Abdul Sattar, parliamentary secretary for planning and development, who was accompanying him, later stated that that he was told by Mr JC Batra that the Indian Army was involved in this case and there “are efforts to shield it from getting exposed”.

Swami Aseemanand also confessed in the court that several RSS preachers and Sang activists were directly involved in planning, financing and executing Malegaon, Samjhauta Express, Ajmer and Mecca Masjid blasts. He stated that various leaders of Hindu communal organizations including Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Abhinav Bharat, Jai Vande Matram and Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram were also behind these blasts.

It is mentionable that in various tapes, LT. Col Purohit said, “We are all on the same plane, Hindu Rashtra (Nation)”. He even claimed that Gen. J J Singh is “with us”. (Former Singh was Army Chief till Sept. 2007). Significantly, Purohit mentioned that “one of our own captain had visited Israel”, and demanded “continuous supply of arms, training, an office with a saffron flag in Tel Aviv, political asylum and support for our cause of a Hindu Nation in the UN.” The Israelis, he added, gave “a very positive response.” In this connection, exposing the nexus between Bhartia Janta Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the then Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde disclosed on January 20, 2013 that organized training camps run by the fundamentalist parties, RSS and BJP were promoting Hindu Terrorism. He also explained that these extremist parties were behind the Samjhauta Express, Meccca Masjid and Malegaon blasts. He added, “We will have to think about it (Saffron terrorism) seriously…Hindu extremist parties BJP and RSS were involved many times in Hindu Muslim violence in India, especially Gujarat and Babri masjid incident.”

The then India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid endorsed Shinde’s statement, saying that it was based on facts. Meanwhile, Indian Home Secretary R K Singh revealed that during investigation the government had found ten names of the Hindu extremists, associated with RSS, who were involved in these terror attacks including Ajmer Sharif. Similarly on July 19, 2013, the Indian ex-investigating officer Satish Verma disclosed that terror-attacks in Mumbai in November 26, 2008 and assault on Indian Parliament in January 12, 2001 were carried out by the Indian government to strengthen anti-terrorism laws.

While, India has always accused Pakistan’s ISI of these acts of terrorism, but it is quite silent over Hindutva-terror which has obtained a new face, under the fundamentalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Indian RAW, country’s high officials and fundamentalist parties have co-relationship. Nevertheless, despite the confessions of Swami Aseemanand, instead of taking action against the culprits of the Samjhota Express explosion, the Supreme Court of India accepted the bail of Swami Aseemanand after the covert interference of the Modi-led authorities who changed the investigations in this respect in order to weaken the case.