CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on February 7.

THE statement by the defence minister in parliament with regard to the  agreement for the Rafale fighter planes is completely unacceptable.

Ever since the deal was renegotiated there have been several reports that allege that the price being paid for the planes in question is much higher than what had been decided in the earlier agreement.
The plea taken by the defence minister that the details of the inter-governmental agreement is “classified information” is untenable. A defence deal involving multi-billion dollars cannot be kept confidential.

Why is it that the government is hiding this information from the sovereign authority of the country, the parliament?

Parliament being denied information about a deal which is not only being criticised as having created a huge and unjustified burden on the national exchequer but which also has grave implications for both the defence sector and public sector units involved in defence production cannot be accepted. The government in the interests of transparency and probity must
reveal all details connected with this agreement to parliament and the people.