The BJP said the email purportedly by an Airbus executive referred to a helicopter deal and not Rafale.
The AG said the country needs the Rafale jet to defend itself 'from F-16 fighter planes that recently bombed us'.
No single individual, institution, or action is to blame for this. The BJP is responding in kind -- definitely not without checking with its government. And they wait for Mr Trump, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The Congress has raised several questions on the Rafale deal, accusing the government of compromising with national interests.
The CAG observed there was no change in the price of 'flyaway aircraft package'.
The attorney general admitted that there is no sovereign guarantee, but asserted that there is a letter of comfort by France which would be as good as a governmental guarantee.
Congress may give a privilege motion notice against the prime minister and Sitharaman.
He accused Jaitley of having the ability to spin "two truths or lies" with "fake self-righteousness" and "indignation to defend the indefensible".
The deal for purchase of 36 Rafale fighter planes from France is not done yet, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday with an assertion that the government was negotiating to reduce to deal value and "save a lot" of money.
The two Houses were adjourned for the day amid sparring between the treasury and the opposition benches on the issue.
The deal was better in aspects such as capability, price and equipment, it said in a statement.
The Congress chief also described Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 3-day trip to France as part of a 'huge cover-up' by the government.
Sources said the issues to be raised during the monsoon session of Parliament starting July 19 were discussed at a meeting of the Congress parliamentary strategy group on Wednesday, which was chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi and attended by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Gandhi had expressed "regret" on Monday over his remarks in connection with the Rafale judgment and said in his affidavit that his statement was "purely political".
Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the Modi government and Anil Ambani over the Rafale issue, saying that in order to bag India's biggest defence contracts one has to be a "defaulter of Rs 45,000 crore" and have "no relevant experience".
On the pricing issue, Eric Trappier said that the present aircraft are cheaper by 9 per cent.
Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said the cost of each Rafale aircraft is approximately Rs 670 crore.
Airbus' $99 million payout puts a new light on Eurofighter's 'unsolicited bid' to the Modi government, reducing the cost of the Typhoon fighter by 20 per cent, making it in retrospect significantly cheaper than the Rafale.
The findings in the report published by the national daily are contrary to claims of the deal being cheaper and f having a faster delivery period.
The final deal may be clinched by May-end.
The document titled 'Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order' stated that the process as laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure-2013 has been followed in procurement of the Rafale aircraft.
The political row over the Rafale deal intensified on Tuesday with the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party trading barbs over it.
She asserted that it is the duty of the prime minister to monitor progress in any deal or project and if the PMO checks on these, it cannot be termed as interference.
The notices were moved by Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Veerappa Moily, K V Thomas, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajiv Satav, sources said.
It asserted that the jets are 'good' both in terms of quality and price.
The bench said that 'argument on the preliminary issue and the claim of privilege raised by the Government of India is reserved'.
"Rafale contract caters for delivery time between 36 months to about 66 months if I am not wrong. So within three years time we will have the first few aircraft delivered to us and within five and a half years we will have two full squadron of aircraft in operation," Raha said at a function in Kolkata.
Making it clear that one car cannot travel on two roads at the same time, India said all future deals for Rafale fighters would also be through government to government route, indicating that the USD 20 billion MMRCA tender has virtually been scrapped.
The integration of the Rafale jets will allow the IAF to hit targets inside both Pakistan and across the northern and eastern borders while still staying within India's territory.
Even as three Rafale fighters line up in Bengaluru for eye-popping aerobatics displays at the Aero India 2015 exhibition this week, senior ministry of defence sources say the proposal to buy the French fighter is "effectively dead".
Gandhi used a purported audio clip to allege that Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is 'blackmailing' Modi.
"I answer all your questions, whatever you ask me. Why don't you question Prime Minister Modi on the Rafale deal, on Amit Shah's son. Why don't you question the prime minister who changed the entire Rafale deal to help a businessman?" he asked.
In their review plea, they alleged that the judgment "relied upon patently incorrect claims made by the government in an unsigned note given in a sealed cover" to the apex court.
Last week, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said buying 90 less Rafale fighter jets than the 126 planned earlier would save him money to buy more Tejas Light Combat Aircraft for the India Air Force.
BJP had on Wednesday tweeted a graphic, saying that the Rafale combat aircraft deal has been "finalised" and the Narendra Modi government had saved over Rs 21,000 crore in the "re-negotiation" with the French government.
Referring to the note, Sinha said the official who initiated it was not a part of the negotiating team.
Chidambaram said he feels that Dassault 'is laughing all the way to the bank', as the NDA government gave a 'gift'.
The negotiations over the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets have entered the "final stages" as both India and France have managed to narrow down their differences over the pricing.
"The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," he said.
Is it Rs 300 billion or Rs 66 billion or Rs 33.12 billion?
