Congress moves Central Vigilance Commissioner for FIR

New Delhi: Taking the fight over the Rafale deal to the next level, the Congress on Monday moved the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), seeking registration of a case in the alleged 'corruption' in the defence deal between India and France.

“A delegation of Congress has met with CVC VK Chowdhary and submitted a detailed memorandum on the Rafale jet purchase scam. We have demanded the CVC to take cognizance, to seize all files and documents and register an FIR,” senior Congress leader Anand Sharma told media after the meeting.

The meeting comes days after a Congress delegation met the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and urged the apex auditor to prepare a report on the alleged irregularities in the deal and present it in Parliament.

In its memorandum, the Congress accused the government of causing loss to the public exchequer and endangering national security by bypassing state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in favour of some businessman “friends” for offset contracts.

Besides Sharma, the delegation comprised senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Kapil Sibal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Manish Tewari, Vivek Tankha, Parmod Tiwari and Pranav Jha.

The Congress has launched an offensive against the BJP government over the Rafale deal, alleging corruption and violation of rules by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded answers from him. It has also accused the Prime Minister, the Union Finance Minister and the Defence Minister of “lying on the issue”.