At a time when India is all set to acquire another Russian nuclear-powered submarine, a report – published recently by the Russian media – has triggered a controversy.
Kommersant, the Russian news portal, reported on November 9 that the Indian Navy had allowed members of an American technical crew to enter into the top secret compartments of the ‘INS Chakra’ – India’s lone Russian-built nuclear-powered submarine. However, the Indian Navy denied the allegation, saying that it has never permitted American officials into the vessel that has been leased from Russia for 10 years (in 2012) for nearly USD 700 million.
A senior Indian Navy official said over the weekend they were well aware of the fact that such a move would be a clear violation of the terms of the contract between New Delhi and Moscow. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that some Russian officials were posted in southern port city of Visakhapatnam to help maintain and operate the INS Chakra. So, it was not possible for the Indian officers to allow the US officials to board the vessel, even if they had any such plan.

INS Chakra

According to sources close to the Indian Navy, a section of defence lobbyists might have influenced the Russian portal to publish such news in order to foil India’s plan to acquire the second submarine.
Another Russian portal, NEWS.ru, reported on the same day that French lobbyists were spreading misinformation through the Russian media, as Paris, too, was interested in selling a nuclear-powered attack submarine to New Delhi. “There is complete confidence that the throw-in is organised by the lobbyists of France, and it’s pretty high quality. In addition to the contract for the construction of non-nuclear boats, such the Scorpene (now being inducted by the Indian Navy), the French have a great desire to enter the Indian nuclear fleet,” it said.

President Putin & PM Modi

Meanwhile, the Narendra Modi government in New Delhi has decided to discuss the issue with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin during his upcoming visit to the South Asian nation. Russia had decided to allow India to acquire the second submarine for around USD 2 billion in October 2016. Rogozin’s visit is aimed at finalising the deal. Indian foreign policy experts believe that the “manufactured controversy” will not affect the defence co-operation between Russia and India.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das