Concerned over the manner in which arms deals with Israel are being conducted, the Left parties have urged the UPA government to immediately take action against the errant firms which indulged in “systematic violation of Indian laws.” In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the four Left parties alleged that Israeli manufacturers, including government-owned entities, had been ‘blatantly violating Indian laws by using middlemen and by giving kickbacks to officials involved in the decision-making process.’
According to a report, picking on India’s acquisition of the Barak missile systems, manufactured by the state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Rafael Corporations, the Left parties alleged that the Rs. 1,300 crore deal was tainted by ‘procedural violations and outright corruption.’ “Evidence has also emerged in Israel of the bribery corruption, including payments to agents in India, indulged in by the IAI and Rafael. Despite all this evidence, the UPA government “has shown remarkable reluctance to take action against the IAI, Rafael and other Israeli arms companies,” the Left parties said. They demanded that the tainted Israeli firms be blacklisted.