Pranab: No decision yet to blacklist Barak

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New Delhi Oct 12: Refusing to jump the gun, the government on Thursday said no decision was in the offing on blacklisting Israeli defence firms Rafael and Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), manufacturers of the Barak missile system in the light of the Centre Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case alleging kickbacks received by former defence minister George Fernandes and former Samata president Jaya Jaitly.

“There is a specific case filed by the CBI regarding Barak missiles. It will go to the courts. Let us await the decision,” defence minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.

Mukherjee’s assertion, while coming as a dissapointment to the CPI(M), has allayed apprehensions that India’s defence ties with Israel could take a hit after the Barak deal controversy surfaced.

The CPM had demanded that India review its ties with Israel and the companies involved be prohibited from conducting further transactions. Signalling India-Israel defence ties would remain unaffected, Mukherjee even refused to draw any any parallel between the Barak case and South African armament firm Denel, which was blacklisted last year after allegations surfaced that 12.75% commission was paid for several armament contracts between 1999 and 2005. “They are totally different situations. The case of Denel and Barak are not comparable,” he said.

Mukherjee’s remarks clearly underlined the deep military relationship between India and Israel, unlike with that of South Africa.

Rafael and IAI, which jointly developed the sea-borne Barak missile, are also involved in several other critical technology transfer deals with India.

IAI is the prime contractor for the $1.5-billion contract to supply three Phalcon airborne early warning and control systems to the Indian air force. It is also supplying high and medium altitude unmanned aerial vehicles to the IAF.

Minister of state for defence Rao Inderjit Singh, however, said there was a need for urgent public debate on whether banning companies for any misdemeanor in such sales was the answer.

Singh said, “If anyone has done hanky-panky, the law will take its course. But we should not have any knee-jerk reaction as this might affect the country’s defence preparedness.”

The minister even argued that only a limited number of countries have been developing anti-missile capabilities and it would be wrong to close the doors to receive such technology.