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"It is wrong to say that Fernandes had tried to push through the Barak deal," Kumar told reporters after the Naval Investiture Ceremony in New Delhi adding, "Navy was convinced of the efficiency, cost-effectiveness of the Israeli missile system, which had undergone tests since 1992."
"Fernandes came into the scene only in 1998. So, it is wrong to drag him into any controversy regarding the missiles."
Kumar said the on-going political turmoil, created after the Tehelka expose on corruption in defence deals, had cast a shadow on the country's defence system, but claimed it was a temporary phenomenon and armed forces would come through it more resilient.
Fernandes, in his resignation statement, had rejected the charges by the news portal Tehelka.com and asserted that the Rs seven billion deal had been approved by the scientific advisor to the defence ministry Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.
Fernandes said the government had cleared the deal as the then naval chief and Kalam had stressed on the urgency of inducting the Barak system in view of Pakistan acquiring the missile firing P-3C Orion aircraft and French anti-ship Exocet missiles.
PTI
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