On Friday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi at an event in Raipur called the Rafale jet deal between India and France as the “biggest ever”defense scam seen by the country.
He blamed Narendra Modi led-BJP government and alleged that under PM Modi’s rule the price of each fighter jet “magically” increased from Rs 540 to Rs 1600 crore.
Gandhi said in the event, “The UPA government had readied the Rafale contract, according to which the price for each jet was approximately Rs 540 crore. The contract was ready and Modi ji only had to take a decision.”
Congress chief added, “But, Modi Ji goes to France and scraps the previous contract and the Defence Minister and other cabinet ministers do not know about it.”
In 2015, India signed a deal with France for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.
Gandhi claimed that the deal of the jets was taken away from public company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the contract was signed over to a private company which has never been involved in making airplanes before. “The company, which was given the contract, was in a debt of Rs 45,000 crore,” alleged Congress supremo.
Gandhi was inaugurating a party-office at Chhattisgarh unit in Raipur. He said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not answer when he asked why she is lying about the Rafale deal.
He stated, “I asked the Defence Minister in the Parliament about why she lied to the country? I did not get any answer. When I told Modiji about this, he was not able to look me in the eye. You saw on TV how he was looking here and there. Why? Because chowkidaar had become the bhaagidaar.”
Earlier today, the Congress MPs led by veteran leader Sonia Gandi staged a protest outside Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Parliament complex, holding placards and raising slogans against the Modi government over the Rafale “scam”.