Attorney General Misled the Court to Save Modi in Rafale Case

With all these ambiguous statements, lies, or half-truths, the AG is trying to be loyal to Modi while he should be loyal to the Indian constitution and the rule of law.

By Rakesh Raman

You need to tell 100 lies to conceal one lie. That’s what the Indian government is trying to do in its attempt to hide the truth in the controversial Rafale deal in which PM Narendra Modi is a prime accused.

While India’s Attorney General (AG) K. K. Venugopal had told the Supreme Court on Wednesday (March 6) that the documents related to the Rafale fighter jet deal have been stolen from the Defence Ministry, he changed his statement just a couple of days later on Friday.

Venugopal stated that when he said documents are stolen, he meant the documents were photocopied to use in the petition. In fact, Venugopal is trying to distort the truth when the Defence Ministry did not support his claim in the court that the Rafale documents were stolen.

India’s Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman – who is also offering lame arguments to defend Modi in the Rafale deal – came to Venugopal’s rescue. “Venugopal told PTI News the Rafale documents were not stolen from the Defence Ministry and what he meant in his submission before the Supreme Court was that petitioners in the application used ‘photocopies of the original’ papers, deemed secret by the government,” Sitharaman tweeted Friday.

1.Learned AG KK Venugopal told @PTI_News the Rafale documents were not stolen from the Defence Ministry & what he meant in his submission before the Supreme Court was that petitioners in the application used “photocopies of the original” papers, deemed secret by the government.

— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) March 8, 2019

However, Sitharaman is also lying as the PTI news story never used the word ‘photocopies.’ And if Venugopal says something that should mean something else, then God only can save India from such careless officers.

While it is a known fact that Indian politicians and legal professionals lack English language skills, this kind of goof-up by India’s top legal officer in the top court must be a cause of concern for the entire judiciary.

[ Indian Courts Are Not Ready to Work in English Language ]

The Supreme Court on Wednesday began hearing petitions that seek review of the earlier court verdict on Rafale deal. The government told the Supreme Court that the review petitions are based on Rafale documents stolen from the Defence Ministry. AG Venugopal also submitted that the documents on the deal relied on by the petitioners were marked secret and classified.

He told the Supreme Court that since the review petitions are based on Rafale documents stolen from the Defence Ministry, they should be dismissed. Venugopal told the court that those who put the Rafale documents in the public domain are guilty under the Official Secrets Act and contempt of court.

In fact, with all these ambiguous statements, lies, or half-truths, the AG is trying to be loyal to Modi while he should be loyal to the Indian constitution and the rule of law.

This shows that India has become a kakistocracy (a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous people), where all law-enforcement agencies and institutions are working as the wholly owned subsidiaries of Modi. They can’t dare to question Modi in any felonious case.

[ Who Will Question Emperor Modi for Rafale Scam? ]

Since there are no checks and balances in the Indian system of governance, the case will gradually get closed although the Supreme Court of India has ostensibly decided to reopen the Rafale case. The next court hearing in the Rafale case is scheduled for March 14.

With an embezzlement of Rs. 30,000 crore (~ US$ 4 billion), the Rafale scam is stated to be the biggest government-led fraud in the world.

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By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications on different subjects.

Photo courtesy: Press Information Bureau