In a rare admission, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has admitted that Pakistan shot down five Indian Air Force (IAF) jets, including Rafales, during the recent military escalation between the two countries.
Speaking in an interview, Swamy said that the Indian planes were defeated in air combat as Pakistan deployed Chinese fighter jets which outperformed the French-made aircraft used by New Delhi.
“Pakistan downed five of our planes. They used Chinese planes to down our planes, which were French,” Swamy revealed. “The Chinese planes were good, but the French were not. Rafale is not up to the mark as per India’s needs,” he added, criticising the performance of the highly-touted Rafale jets.
He went on to make a startling claim regarding the controversial Rafale deal, alleging corruption in the procurement process. “Corruption happened in Rafale which won’t be investigated till Modi is the PM,” he stated firmly.
Discussing the lack of accountability within the Indian leadership, Swamy said that under the current prime minister, an open probe into the aircraft losses is highly unlikely. “With Modi in power, no discussions or investigations will happen about how and why those jets were downed,” he said.
This is a developing story and is being updated with further details.
