Is the Rafale deal a scam? No, if Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Officer Eric Trappier is to be believed. The Congress and other Opposition parties have been alleging that the joint venture between Dassault and Anil Ambani's Reliance Group for an offset contract deal was formed at the behest of the Modi government. The two companies have denied it already.

In his latest interview, the Dassault CEO has elaborated further. "I don't lie. The truth I declared before and the statements I made are true. I don't have a reputation of lying. In my position as CEO, you don't lie. We chose Ambani by ourselves. We already have 30 partners other than Reliance. The IAF is supporting the deal because they need the fighter jets for their own defence to be at the top," he said.

The CEO further suggested that the deal is a good one for India. "The price of 36 was exactly the same when you compare with 18 flyaway (sic). 36 is the double of 18. So as far as I was concerned, it should have been double the price. But because it was govt to govt, there was a negotiation, I had to decrease price by 9%," Eric stated.

What about the monies invested in Reliance? "We are not putting the money in Reliance. The money is going into the JV (Dassault-Reliance). Engineers and workers from Dassault are taking the lead as far as the industrial part of the deal is concerned," he stated. "Have 7 years to perform our offset. During the first 3 years, we are not obliged to say with who we are working. Already settled the agreement with 30 companies, which represents 40% of total offset obligation as per contract. Reliance is 10% out of the 40," he added.

The Congress, however, has said that those who are accused can't be a judge.