Sinha, who led the Indian negotiating team in the Rafale deal, on Friday rejected the allegation that the Prime Minister’s Office had held “parallel negotiations” with the French. Former defence secretary G. Mohan Kumar too said the accusation was “absolutely wrong”. Sinha said the official who initiated the file noting was not part of the negotiating team and questioned his “locus standi” and motive. “None of us were aware of the note and neither was it discussed with the Indian negotiating team.”Sinha claimed he had seen the note for the first time in the media. Kumar said the matter raised in the note referred to the sovereign guarantee and not the price.

Source: The Telegraph February 08, 2019 22:18 UTC