Rahul ji, Congress president proclaimed from the roof top that when he had met French President he had talked about the secrecy clause in the Rafale fighters deal and was told by the French President that no such clause existed. Of all the places this wrong claim was made by Rahul during his speech when the debate on no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha was going on.
It seems a strategy has been worked out by some one that by constantly repeating a lie, it will be accepted by public at large as a gospel truth.
The very next day France asserted that the security protocol made in 2008 (was not Congress in power?) with regards to Rafael deal legally binds the two countries to protect classified information.
Refuting Gandhi’s claim, France added that the provisions of this agreement was also equally applicable to the Inter Governmental Agreement on 36 Rafale aircraft, which concluded in September 2016.
“We have noted the statement of Mr Rahul Gandhi before the Indian Parliament. 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. As the President of the French Republic indicated publicly in an interview given to India Today on 9th March 2018, “In India and in France, when a deal is very sensitive, we can’t reveal all details”,” Spokesperson of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs said in Paris.
In fact in March 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to India had said in an interview that Rafale was a well negotiated deal but the details of that cannot be revealed. It was because of that very secret clause.
