Opposition demands graft probe

♦ The Hindu may face prosecution for violating secrets act

♦ Govt earlier told SC that documents related to deal stolen

India's opposition yesterday called for a corruption probe into a multi-billion-dollar fighter jet deal, raising pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as government lawyers threatened a leading newspaper with legal action for revealing details.

New Delhi agreed in 2016 to purchase 36 Rafale jets from France but the deal has been embroiled in misconduct allegations, which resurfaced in the wake of air battles last month with arch-rival Pakistan that raised questions about the capacity of the Indian Air Force.

Modi said this week that the result of the brief aerial clash with Pakistan would have been "better" if India had Rafales while accusing the opposition of hampering the deal he signed with Paris at an estimated cost of $9.4 billion.

During a Supreme Court hearing late Wednesday, The Hindu newspaper -- which ran a series of reports on the deal -- was warned it faces charges under the Official Secrets Act over defence ministry documents it cited in its coverage.

Attorney General KK Venugopal said the files -- which indicated the defence ministry was angry because Modi's office had carried out rival negotiations for the Rafales -- had been "stolen".

"The government claims that the documents were stolen. Doesn't that mean the documents are authentic?" said Rahul Gandhi, head of the opposition Congress party which has led a longstanding onslaught against the deal.

He added: "The PM's name clearly figures in the documents, saying the prime minister's office is carrying out parallel negotiations. Let's have an inquiry into that as well."

French company Dassault initially won a contract negotiated under a Congress-led government in 2012 to supply 126 jets to India, with 18 built in France and the rest in India by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

But during a visit to France in 2015, Modi scrapped the deal, replacing it with an order for 36 jets -- all to be built in France.

The new agreement, formally signed in 2016, named Reliance group, a conglomerate owned by billionaire Anil Ambani, as Dassault's local partner. Ambani is reported to be close to the governing party and Reliance had little experience in the aviation sector.

The government has strongly denied any misconduct in its renegotiation of the deal and accuses Congress of undermining national security to win votes.