Defeat Biden Campaign: Biden Comes as a Salesman to India
Defeat Biden Campaign: Biden Comes as a Salesman to India
It is alleged to be a dubious deal, as Modi has secretly decided to buy 31 Predator drones for US$ 3 billion or Rs. 25,000 crore.
By Rakesh Raman
The U.S. President Joe Biden – who came to India on September 8 to ostensibly participate in the G20 Summit in New Delhi – has, in fact, come as a salesman to sell American products in India.
As the Biden administration has been arm-twisting the government of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi to buy U.S. defense equipment, feeble Modi succumbed and India has agreed to procure MQ-9B drones also called Predator-B drones from the U.S. government.
It is alleged to be a dubious deal, as Modi has secretly decided to buy 31 Predator drones for US$ 3 billion or Rs. 25,000 crore.
Modi took the decision unilaterally without following the statutory purchase procedure and the drones being purchased by Modi come with obsolete technology. Moreover, there is no transfer of technology to India.
In order to know the details of the deal, I sent the following query to the U.S. Department of State:
“Multiple media reports in June 2023 reveal that there have been serious financial irregularities or corruption in the 31 Predator drones deal that was signed between the U.S. and India during the June 2023 visit of Indian prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi in the U.S. It is also alleged that Modi was forced to sign the deal to buy drones with obsolete technology. Is President Biden aware of the alleged irregularities and what is your standpoint on this deal?”
Response from the U.S Department of State: We would refer you to the Department of Defense.
Although the U.S. State Department said it refers me to the Department of Defense, I did not get any response. You can click here to study the related email communications.
A Twitter thread explains how Modi overpays for drones and the possibility of huge corruption in the deal. It is said that the U.S. Air Force pays US$ 56.5 million per Predator drone and the U.K. paid only US$ 12.5 million per drone. But Modi has decided to pay a whopping US$ 110 million per drone. The overpayment is believed to be corruption money.
Defeat Biden Campaign
This story is part of our Defeat Biden campaign which aims to expose the duplicity and dishonesty of the U.S. President Joe Biden so that he could be defeated in the 2024 U.S. Presidential election.
The deal was finalized during Modi’s visit to the U.S. on the invitation of the U.S. President Joe Biden. It is reported that Modi was forced to accept the deal in return to an invitation to the U.S. tour as he is always eager to visit the U.S.
It is alleged that the Modi government is paying almost double the actual price of MQ-9B Predator drones manufactured by General Atomics and the U.S. purchased these drones at much lesser price.
Therefore, corruption or financial irregularities in this deal cannot be ruled out and in all probability Biden is aware of this possible wrongdoing.
In order to gain legitimacy for his actions in Gujarat riots and his ongoing despotism, Modi is squandering huge public money to buy foreign products and services which are not actually required in India. In other words, Modi is bribing the politicians such as Biden to buy their silence on his crimes.
The U.S., in fact, exploits corruption and human rights abuses in India for its commercial interests, as the U.S. believes that India is a big market for its products and services.
The modus operandi of the U.S. leaders is to subtly intimidate Modi with the accusations of corruption and human rights violations, and then force him to buy obsolete American products or services worth billions of dollars.
The Predator drone deal is one such deal which has been forced upon Modi, as he easily succumbs to pressure when faced with allegations of corruption and human rights abuses.
Modi does not want his U.S. visa to be revoked, as it was done after the Gujarat massacre in which he was the main accused. So, he easily signs deals proposed by foreign leaders and wastes Indian public money to accomplish those deals.
Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) colleagues are facing serious allegations of corruption in multiple cases. These cases include the PM-CARES Fund case, Rafale corruption case, Sri Lanka energy project case involving Gautam Adani’s group, as Adani is a close capitalist friend of Modi, Modi-Adani collusion case, Sahara-Birla payoff case, and a number of other cases in which Modi’s party colleagues are allegedly involved.
In this particular Predator drone deal, there is a possibility of Modi’s collusion with Biden as both need huge campaign money for their respective elections in 2024.
Since Modi does not allow any investigation into his alleged corruption crimes and Indian courts are very weak, it will not be possible to know the extent of corruption in the Predator drone deal.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He has also been publishing The Unrest news magazine that covers economic and political upheavals in the world.
