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==Controversy==
===2017===
While campaigning for [[2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election]], Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of Rafale deal to attack Narendra Modi. He repeated the allegations of price escalation and favouritism towards Reliance Defence Limited.<ref>{{cite news |title=In poll-bound Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi targets PM Modi over Rafale deal, Jay Shah issue |url=https://indianexpress.com/elections/gujarat-assembly-elections-2017/rahul-gandhi-gujarat-assembly-elections-2017-narendra-modi-jay-shah-rafale-deal-winter-session-4954105/ |work=The Indian Express |date=25 November 2017 |language=en-IN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Narendra Modi for his 'silence' on Rafale jet deal |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/rahul-gandhi-attacks-pm-narendra-modi-for-his-silence-on-rafale-jet-deal/articleshow/61855228.cms |work=The Economic Times |date=29 November 2017}}</ref> Former defence minister Manohar Parrikar justified the costs, saying that the cost of the aircraft is often eclipsed by the cost of equipment required to make it combat-ready and the new agreement includes development costs for integration of a [[helmet-mounted display]] and a serviceability agreement. He blamed his predecessor in the previous United Progressive Alliance government, A. K. Antony for delaying the acquisition by creating uncertainty over the lowest bidder.<ref>{{cite news |title=Manohar Parrikar justifies Rafale fighter jet costs: ‘Aircraft smaller part, real cost in equipment’ |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/manohar-parrikar-justifies-rafale-costs-aircraft-smaller-part-real-cost-in-equipment-4975834/ |work=The Indian Express |date=10 December 2017 |language=en-IN}}</ref>
In December 2017, Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha that IGA had better aircraft pricing along with an improved maintenance package and a faster delivery schedule, although she admitted that a direct
===2018===
In February 2018, in response to demands for details of the agreement to be made public, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the details were classified under a security agreement signed by Indian and French governments in 2008. She said that no state-owned or privately-owned companies were included in the IGA.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rafale Deal Details Can't Be Disclosed, "Classified": Nirmala Sitharaman |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/rafale-agreement-details-classified-cant-be-disclosed-nirmala-sitharaman-1809012 |work=NDTV |agency=Indo-Asian News Service |date=6 February 2018}}</ref> Rahul Gandhi alleged that the secrecy over pricing was evidence of a scam.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rahul calls Rafale deal a 'scam' |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/rahul-calls-rafale-deal-a-scam/1247610 |work=Outlook |agency=Asian News International}}</ref> Randeep Surjewala alleged that [[Eurofighter GmbH]] had reduced the price of its [[Eurofighter Typhoon|Typhoon]] jet by 20% and questioned why it was not considered.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rahul terms Rafale jet deal a ‘scam’, Cong demands govt to reveal price negotiated for aircraft |url=http://www.uniindia.com/rahul-terms-rafale-jet-deal-a-scam--cong-demands-govt-to-reveal-price-negotiated-for-aircraft/india/news/1130059.html |work=United News of India |date=6 February 2018}}</ref> In response, the Ministry of Defence released a statement saying that the parliament had been informed with approximate cost of aircraft and revealing item-wise costs would compromise national security and violate the 2008 agreement. The statement went on to say that selection of offset partners had not been made by Dassault Aviation and it was free to select its partners. On the Eurofighter question, the statement said that the previous government too had rejected an unsolicited bid from Eurofighter that was made a few days after the lowest bidder was announced in 2012.<ref>{{cite news |title=Allegations against Rafale deal are misleading: Defence ministry |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/allegations-against-rafale-deal-are-misleading-defence-ministry/articleshow/62827782.cms |work=The Times of India |date=8 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=Information Relating to Inter-Governmental Agreement on Rafale |url=http://pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1519514 |publisher=Press Information Bureau |agency=Ministry of Defence |date=7 February 2018}}</ref> Finance minister and former defence minister [[Arun Jaitley]] defended the government's stand by providing examples of two instances where ministers under the previous UPA government had claimed that details of arms expenditure was classified and said that there were 15 such instances in total.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jaitley accuses Congress of ‘manufacturing’ Rafale scam to attack NDA |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/india/jaitley-accuses-congress-of-manufacturing-rafale-scam-to-attack-nda-1502582109.html |work=The Statesman |date=8 February 2018}}</ref> Rahul Gandhi responded by presenting examples of three instances where ministers under the UPA government had provided pricing of defence deals.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rafale aircraft deal: Rahul Gandhi counters Arun Jaitley, shows UPA govt’s parliamentary replies on Defence deals |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/rafale-aircraft-deal-rahul-gandhi-arun-jaitley-upa-defence-deals-nirmala-sitharaman-5057514/ |work=The Indian Express |date=9 February 2018 |language=en-IN}}</ref> The [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] joined the Congress in its demands for details of the purchase to be made public.<ref>{{cite news |title=Secrecy on Rafale deal untenable: CPI (M) |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/secrecy-on-rafale-deal-untenable-cpi-m/article22681939.ece |work=The Hindu |date=7 February 2018 |language=en-IN}}</ref> [[Aam Aadmi Party]] alleged that there was corruption involved in the Rafale deal and repeated the allegations of price escalation.<ref>{{cite news |title=AAP alleges graft in Rafale deal |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/aap-alleges-graft-in-rafale-deal/article22746111.ece |work=The Hindu |date=14 February 2018 |language=en-IN}}</ref>
''India Today'' and ''The Economic Times'', quoting unnamed Ministry of Defence officials, reported that the price that was being negotiated under the UPA government amounted to €99 million for the aircraft without weapons and other addons while the cost of the same under the new agreement was €91 million. They added that the new agreement included additional deliverables such as [[Meteor (missile)|Meteor]] air-to-air missile that was absent in the MMRCA tender and 13 India-specific enhancements.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sen |first1=Sudhi Ranjan |title=Each Rafale fighter costs 91 million euros, cheaper than UPA govt's deal: Sources |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/each-rafale-fighter-costs-91-million-euros-cheaper-than-upa-govt-s-deal-sources-1164832-2018-02-09 |work=India Today |date=9 February 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gurung |first1=Shaurya Karanbir |title=NDA’s Rafale deal ‘much better’ than UPA’s, say MoD officials |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/ndas-rafale-deal-much-better-than-upas-say-mod-officials/articleshow/62876613.cms |work=The Economic Times |date=12 February 2018}}</ref> ''The Indian Express'', also quoting unnamed government officials, reported that the cost of ₹525 crore or €79 million quoted by Congress leaders was from Dassault's 2007 bid for MMRCA, which included an annual price inflation of 3.9% that would have taken the costs to €100.85 million in 2015. The report detailed the costs in the new agreement as €91.7 million for each aircraft, €1.8 billion for spare parts, €1.7 billion for weather and terrain customizations, €710 million for weapons and €353 million for performance-based logistics along with index-based inflation with a cap of 3.5%.<ref>{{cite news |title=Basic Rafale 2016 costs less than 2007, weapons extra: Officials |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/rafale-fighter-jet-deal-modi-government-rahul-gandhi-congress-5082298/ |work=The Indian Express |date=1 March 2018 |language=en-IN}}</ref>
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