France Concurs With Sitharaman Over Rafale’s ‘Secrecy’ Clause

Countering the charges made by Congress President Rahul Gandhi on the Rafale deal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that the secrecy deal had, in fact, been signed in 2008 by the then Defence Minister AK Antony.

Clutching the agreement paper in her hand, Sitharaman said that the allegations levelled against her by Gandhi were false. In his speech, Gandhi had said that Sitharaman had “lied” when she told the nation that she couldn’t reveal information about the deal because of a ‘secret pact’ with the French government – a pact he said the French President told him didn’t exist.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied about the Rafale deal under pressure from PM Modi.

Rahul Gandhi

Reading out from the agreement, Sitharaman countered:

The secrecy clause was signed on 25 January 2008, between Defence Minister of the UPA government AK Antony and the French government.

She further stated that according to Article 10 of the agreement, the protection of classified information and materials exchanged under the IGA “shall be governed by the provisions of the security agreement signed on 25 January 2008”.

Then, referring to Gandhi's alleged conversation with the French President, Sitharaman quoted the French President's interview with an Indian media organisation, where he had supposedly said that the details of the deal cannot be revealed, lest competitors get to know about the deal.

History of the Controversy

According to The Indian Express, the controversy dates back to 5 February, when Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha that the cost of the Rafale aircraft could be not be revealed since it was “classified information”, as per the security agreement between the two countries.

In a statement that was issued two days after this, the defence ministry said that it was merely following the confidentiality provisions of the bilateral India-France agreement that had been signed by the previous government.

However, law states that the government is bound to provide the complete information to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

In 2017, at a press conference held in the defence ministry, Sitharaman had stated that her government had nothing to hide and would share the price details of the deal, reported The Indian Express.

“Can’t Reveal All Details”: France

Concurring with Sitharaman over the secrecy in the Rafale deal, France, in a statement, said that the Security Agreement of 2008 extended to the 23 September 2016 deal involving the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons.

The statement came after Gandhi made the allegation in his speech, but made no reference to the discussions conducted between Gandhi and French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year, reported NDTV.

France and India concluded in 2008 a Security Agreement, which legally binds the two States to protect the classified information provided by the partner that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France. These provisions naturally apply to the IGA concluded on 23 September 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons.

Statement by the French government

Further, referring to the interview quoted by Sitharaman, France agreed that the details of the deal could not revealed as it was “extremely sensitive” in nature.

(With inputs from The Indian Express and NDTV.)