The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday (December 11) dismissed the viral letter regarding the Rafale deal as fake. The letter claimed that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had written to the French embassy warning that information about the Rafale delivery had been leaked.
What did the viral letter claim?
The letter, purportedly written by Jaishankar, said that certain communications regarding the timeline of the Rafale naval aircraft had been made public. She further stated that this unintended disclosure caused unforeseen problems.
The fake letter was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was dated 26 November 2025 and was addressed to Thierry Mathou, the French Ambassador to India.
The viral fake letter read: “I hope this message finds you well. We have noticed that certain communications regarding the timeline of the Rafale naval aircraft have recently appeared in the public domain.”
“While we fully understand the complexities of such arrangements and the detailed processes involved, the inadvertent disclosure has created some unforeseen challenges for us, given the nature of our extensive collaboration,” it said.
According to an image shared by the Ministry of External Affairs, the “fake” letter was shared by an X account called ‘Discourse Lab’, which claimed: “Jaishankar’s letter to France confirms one thing: the Rafale dispute is far from over. New Delhi is trying to limit the impact of the leaks.”
What was the MEA’s response?
The MEA dismissed the viral letter saying, “The letter referred to in this post is fake.”
“Always be alert to misinformation,” the ministry warned.
What is the Rafale controversy?
The Rafale is a French twin-engine multirole fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. Rafale jets are considered to be some of the most effective combat jets in the world.
India began the process of procuring a fleet of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in 2007 after the Defense Ministry, led by then Congress leader AK Antony, approved a proposal from the Indian Air Force.
In 2016, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government signed ₹$59,000 million deal to buy 36 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation.
Several allegations have been made in connection with the deal, including that the rates for the aircraft were inflated and allegations of corruption.
Later, controversy flared after a French magazine reported that Dassault Aviation paid 1 million euros to Sushen Gupta to broker the deal.
The government defended the 2016 deal on several points, including faster delivery of fighter jets. Meanwhile, Dassault Aviation clarified that the deal had passed numerous checks and no violations had been reported.
India and France sign €7.87 billion (approx ₹59,000 crore) on 23 September 2016 for 36 Rafale aircraft. The delivery of the aircraft will start from September 2019. The deal was completed on the basis of a tender process under the UPA government.
