The infamous 2G spectrum allocation 'scam', which, arguably, played a major role in the downfall of the UPA government in 2014, was based on “notional figures”, said Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor.

“UPA was targeted with a totally notional figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in the 2G 'scam'. There hasn't been a bigger scam in Indian history than the Rafale deal where the security of the nation is under threat,” he said at The Town Hall event, hosted by THE WEEK’s Contributing Editor Barkha Dutt, in Kochi. Organised by THE WEEK and Mojo, The Town Hall is a series of conversations held across India. Presented by Federal Bank, this edition had additional support from Audi Kochi.

Tharoor was responding to a question from the audience on the 'fewer' number of scams in the present NDA rule when compared with the UPA's term.

The Supreme Court, in 2012, declared that the allocation of 2G spectrum by the Congress-led UPA government was illegal and arbitrary. It cancelled all 122 telecom licences allotted to companies in early 2008 during the tenure of A. Raja as communications minister. Last year, however, a CBI special court acquitted all the accused in the 2G scam case.

“The UPA government made a policy choice that we will not sell the spectrum for a higher revenue, but would rather sell it cheap, so that the people can get lower telephone rates. That was the rationale, which has since being accepted by the court.”

“So, the irony is that the biggest scam hung around the UPA term wasn't a scam at all. Whereas the Rafale scam is a serious one. The Indian Air Force needed 128 aircraft after a six-year study, to be manufactured in parts in France and assembled at the HAL in India, to meet the identified operational requirements of the IAF,” Tharoor said.

“The NDA government sat on the Rafale deal for one year and nothing happened. Then PM Modi travels to Paris and suddenly 128 aircraft becomes 36 aircraft fully manufactured in France. And the offset contract, which is 50 per cent of the deal, goes to the person who accompanied Modi on the trip to Paris and who has never made a plane in his life,” Tharoor remarked.

India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment. The Congress has been alleging massive irregularities in the deal, saying the Modi government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating for the fighters.

The Congress has also been targeting the government over selection of Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault. The government has rejected the allegations and asserted that it did not have any role in the selection of Reliance Defence.

“The facts (about the NDA government going back on the earlier decided conditions) are not in question. The argument that the price (of the aircraft) is a national secret is absurd. Successive defence ministers have placed before Parliament the price of similar equipment. When the taxpayer's money is being spent, the government has the obligation to explain the price to the people,” Tharoor said.

Tharoor went on to point out how the media is being intimidated by the Modi government. “You find stories emerging about Amit Shah's son and the next day they disappear. You find a major Hindi TV channel doing two broadcasts that are critical of Modi and immediately people are fired. So, Rafale gets limited attention in the media,” he argued.

He reminisced how several investigative journalists were “unleashed” to unearth details of the Bofors scandal during the Congress rule.

Tharoor also brought up the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, related to the recruitment to medical, engineering and other professional courses. Some 49 lakh candidates appeared in 59 examinations of Vyapam during the period when a scam came to light in 2013. In 2015, the BJP government in the state agreed to a CBI inquiry. Since then, over 3,000 accused have been arrested. The CBI has registered over 55 FIRs and 20 specially designated courts were created by the High Court for trials in the Vyapam scam. However, judgement in none of the cases has been pronounced.

Tharoor declared, “51 people related to the scandal have died under mysterious circumstances, including a number of journalists investigating this scandal. And suddenly, as a result, no one talks about Vyapam anymore. It is not even a major issue in the Madhya Pradesh election.”

“These issues seriously affect the well-being and security of the nation. But we find a conspiracy of silence instead,” Tharoor said.