Welcome to The Political Fix by Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, a newsletter on Indian politics and policy. To get it in your inbox every week,...
Welcome to The Political Fix by Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, a newsletter on Indian politics and policy. To get it in your inbox every week, sign up here.
We don’t charge for this newsletter, but if you would like to support us consider contributing to the Scroll Reporting Fund or, if you’re not in India, subscribing to Scroll+.
The Big Story: Clause wits
Public memory of the Rafale affair appears to be closely connected to the unsuccessful effort by the Congress – or more specifically former Congress President Rahul Gandhi – to turn the fighter jet deal into a corruption case that might change voter perceptions ahead of the 2019 general elections. Remember the “chowkidar chor hai” slogan, implying Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a thief? That effort evidently failed.
But it is important to remember that the controversy around the procurement of the French fighter jet began because of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s own claims.
To recap: India had been looking to buy new fighter jets since 2007 to replace its aging MiG 21 squadrons.
The Congress-led government had, after issuing a global tender for 126 planes, honed in on the Rafale, built by France’s Dassault. The deal would have resulted in18 Rafale jets coming directly from France, while the rest would have to be built in India....