Rafale documents ‘stolen’ remark: how can govt defend the country, ask Opposition parties

Opposition parties on Wednesday slammed the government for the Attorney General’s (AG) submission in the Supreme Court claiming that the Rafale deal documents published in The Hindu were “stolen” from the Ministry of Defenceand questioned the government’s capability to defend the country.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said on Twitter that the AG had merely confirmed the series of news stories questioning the Rafale deal. “Modi govt itself admits Rafale documents “stolen” from the Ministry of Defence. How can country’s security be entrusted with this govt? But thanks to them for confirming the documents. An FIR against Modi is now inescapable,” he tweeted.

CPI leader D. Raja told The Hindu that instead of shooting the messenger the government should respond to the message. “It is shameful that the Attorney General is telling the apex court that the files have been stolen. Is the chowkidaar not able to protect the files? Now they are attacking The Hindu. When its suits them they claim that no one should question the source. You are attacking the messenger what about the message. Why the PM is not able to respond to issues in public domain?,” he said.SO 

Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi demanded a formal police investigation into the AG’s claim about “stolen documents”.

“If this is what the government appointed Attorney General says, it means it is the official statement of the Ministry of Defence. If the Ministry can’t protect such sensitive documents concerning national security then how can they defend the country? It is a very serious affair and there should be thorough enquiry into it,” he said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha said the AG’s statement showed this “is the weakest government that can’t keep the country safe”. “This tells you very clearly why the PM and his team were blocking possibility of JPC. You can’t cover corruption under pretext of national security. Request the PM to submit to due process of law,” he said.

Senior advocate and constitutional expert Dushyant Dave said there was no violation of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) in the publication of documents related to the Rafale deal, as ministers, and the Prime Minister, besides the Air Force brass had repeatedly gone to the press with selective documents to justify their stand.

“The argument on behalf of the government is an absolute non-starter,” he said in response to a query on whether stolen documents can be relied upon by a court as an admissible proof, an issue which was at the centre of the Rafale case hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.