Where is the Rafale bribe money? | The Indian Express

Where is the Rafale bribe money? | The Indian Express

Written by Tavleen Singh |Published: March 17, 2019 12:30:55 am

Tavleen Singh, a leading Columnist associated with The Indian Express. Find all Columns from Tavleen Singh here.

Where is the Rafale bribe money?

It is not just the Air Force that struggles along without the modernisation it needs. The Army and Navy fare no better. During the Kargil War, we found to our horror that the Army did not have enough coffins to bring dead soldiers back from that mountainous battlefield.

The decision to buy Rafale fighters was taken nearly a decade ago and we are still awaiting delivery of the first batch. Why?

As a soldier’s daughter I spent most of my growing years in Army stations across India. Often these were just encampments in which the only public place for entertainment, sports and assembly was ‘The Club’. This was usually an old British bungalow with high-ceilinged rooms and wide verandahs. Remnants of the Raj lingered in musty billiard rooms, bars and ballrooms even if the new sahibs were brown and not white.