The Hindu Publishing Group Chairman N Ram on Wednesday said that no one could force them to reveal the confidential sources who provided them with Rafale documents.
“We are well protected. We didn’t steal any documents,” N Ram said while speaking to India Today TV.
Talking about the Rafale deal, N Ram said that it was a done deal.
“The first Rafale aircraft will come in September. No one is questioning the quality of the jets or the need to buy them,” N Ram said.
N Ram has written a series of articles on the Rafale deal, the latest one on Wednesday.
However, questions have to be raised on the decision making involved as well as the terms of the deal, N Ram said.
“Is the new deal better than the old deal, whether there was any dissent or undermining on India’s negotiating position,” N Ram asked, while adding that Rafale deal came to light due to investigative journalism.
“Government withheld information from the public. We just published it in public interest,” he said.
On February 8, N Ram wrote in The Hindu that the Defence ministry raised strong objections to ‘parallel discussions’ conducted by the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) during the negotiations over the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale deal between India and France.
It was allegedly based on government documents related to Rafale deal.
The government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that documents related to the Rafale aircraft deal have been stolen from the Defence Ministry and an investigation into the theft is on.
Attorney General KK Venugopal said papers regarding the pricing of the Rafales — a topic of furious political debate — were stolen from ministry files and given to The Hindu newspaper for publishing.
