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http://m.economictimes.com/news/def...or-row-over-gun-deal/articleshow/53106294.cms
NEW DELHI: In this week's Cabinet reshuffle, Rao Inderjit Singh was moved from the ministry of defence (MoD), where he was a minister of state (MoS), and given the remit of planning and urban development, also as MoS.
Just 10 days before the reshuffle, on June 25, Singh had a major row in a high-level MoD meeting, forcing Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar to intervene. In that meeting, Singh took on the Army and MoD's acquisition wing, accused them of "unfair selection" in an Army contract for 44,000 carbines, batted for inclusion of Italian firm Beretta in the list of vendors, even asking for a CBI probe into the selection process.
Beretta had been disqualified in Army trials for carbines, and Israeli firm IWI was the only firm that passed the test.
At that same meeting, the Army and the MoD's acquisition wing made the point that the terms of reference of the contract could not be changed to accommodate any vendor, and that such a decision would not survive legal scrutiny.
Officers who spoke to ET for this story did so on the condition they not be identified. They said Parikkar agreed with the principle of not having a single vendor but he said he will take up the issue at a different level. MoD responded to ET's questions by saying it did not wish to comment.
Singh, who spoke to ET at length, said he had asked for a CBI inquiry. He claimed his point was to establish how the army had picked a "single vendor", IWI, for this order.
Beretta is promoted in India by Udai Singh and his father Bhupinder Singh. The senior Singh, nicknamed Tusky by his friends, is a familiar figure in Delhi's defence circles. The Singhs had figured in a controversy over supply of allegedly sub-standard submachine guns to Border Security Force.
When contacted by ET, Bhupinder Singh said he was not "aware of any development or controversy around the carbine deal".
Documents reviewed by ET show Rao Inderjit Singh had made his first intervention in February 2015, through a letter to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, and sent another communication in June 2015.
Before Singh's intervention, Beretta, an Italian firm best known for its handguns, had been disqualified by the Army as a vendor because its carbines' laser sight did not make the cut in trials.
Singh's interventions through 2015 and in the meeting a week before the Cabinet reshuffle made the point that Beretta should be called for another round of trials.
Singh's first letter in January 2015 made acase for a retrial, arguing that a single vendor will push up price.
In the second letter in June 2015, the junior minister suggested the contract be modified to ensure there is no single vendor situation. He argued that laser sights could be procured from the public sector defence manufacturer Bharat Electronics Ltd.
Singh told ET: "There was an apprehension that the resultant single vendor situation (in favour of IWI) could have been managed. I asked for a CBI inquiry, if necessary, to get to the bottom of the affair," he said.
@jbgt90 @ranjeet @4GTejasBVR @The_Showstopper @guest11 @PARIKRAMA
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@Nilgiri
@Guynextdoor2 @DesiGuy1403
http://m.economictimes.com/news/def...or-row-over-gun-deal/articleshow/53106294.cms
NEW DELHI: In this week's Cabinet reshuffle, Rao Inderjit Singh was moved from the ministry of defence (MoD), where he was a minister of state (MoS), and given the remit of planning and urban development, also as MoS.
Just 10 days before the reshuffle, on June 25, Singh had a major row in a high-level MoD meeting, forcing Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar to intervene. In that meeting, Singh took on the Army and MoD's acquisition wing, accused them of "unfair selection" in an Army contract for 44,000 carbines, batted for inclusion of Italian firm Beretta in the list of vendors, even asking for a CBI probe into the selection process.
Beretta had been disqualified in Army trials for carbines, and Israeli firm IWI was the only firm that passed the test.
At that same meeting, the Army and the MoD's acquisition wing made the point that the terms of reference of the contract could not be changed to accommodate any vendor, and that such a decision would not survive legal scrutiny.
Officers who spoke to ET for this story did so on the condition they not be identified. They said Parikkar agreed with the principle of not having a single vendor but he said he will take up the issue at a different level. MoD responded to ET's questions by saying it did not wish to comment.
Singh, who spoke to ET at length, said he had asked for a CBI inquiry. He claimed his point was to establish how the army had picked a "single vendor", IWI, for this order.
Beretta is promoted in India by Udai Singh and his father Bhupinder Singh. The senior Singh, nicknamed Tusky by his friends, is a familiar figure in Delhi's defence circles. The Singhs had figured in a controversy over supply of allegedly sub-standard submachine guns to Border Security Force.
When contacted by ET, Bhupinder Singh said he was not "aware of any development or controversy around the carbine deal".
Documents reviewed by ET show Rao Inderjit Singh had made his first intervention in February 2015, through a letter to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, and sent another communication in June 2015.
Before Singh's intervention, Beretta, an Italian firm best known for its handguns, had been disqualified by the Army as a vendor because its carbines' laser sight did not make the cut in trials.
Singh's interventions through 2015 and in the meeting a week before the Cabinet reshuffle made the point that Beretta should be called for another round of trials.
Singh's first letter in January 2015 made acase for a retrial, arguing that a single vendor will push up price.
In the second letter in June 2015, the junior minister suggested the contract be modified to ensure there is no single vendor situation. He argued that laser sights could be procured from the public sector defence manufacturer Bharat Electronics Ltd.
Singh told ET: "There was an apprehension that the resultant single vendor situation (in favour of IWI) could have been managed. I asked for a CBI inquiry, if necessary, to get to the bottom of the affair," he said.
