India’s top court has ordered the government to provide pricing details of 36 Rafale fighter jets it is buying from France.
The court on Wednesday said the government must bring details of the decision-making process of the deal into the public domain, except those that are confidential and have strategic importance. The court says those can be provided in a “sealed cover.”
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The deal has become a major political issue with the leader of the main opposition Indian National Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of buying the aircraft at nearly three times the price being negotiated when his party was in power before Modi became prime minister in 2014.
The government has refuted the claim, but says a secrecy clause governs the deal’s pricing.
