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Congress President Rahul Gandhi demands probe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in relation to the alleged scam in Rafale deal as AICC chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala looks on, during a press conference at AICC HQ, in New Delhi, Thursday. (PTI)[/caption]
New Delhi, Oct. 11 (PTI): Congress president Rahul Gandhi Thursday demanded an investigation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his role in the Rafale deal, alleging that he was a “corrupt man” who helped Anil Ambani pocket Rs 30,000 crore in the purchase of 36 aircraft.
He also described Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s ongoing three-day visit to France as part of a “great cover-up”.
Gandhi’s allegations came a day after a report in French publication that said Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale, had to choose Ambani’s firm Reliance
Defence as its offset partner in India as a trade-off for getting the deal.
The government has been insisting it had no role in Dassault’s choice of Reliance Defence.
“The reality is that the prime minister is corrupt. The prime minister of India is a corrupt person, but he came to power on the promise of fighting corruption,” Gandhi said at a press conference.
“... in the Rafale contract. the prime minister has indulged in clear cut corruption and there should be an investigation on it.”
Questioning Modi’s silence on the issue, he said, “It is clear there is pressure. If he is unable to respond, he should resign.” The Congress president, however, did not provide any evidence to back his allegations against the prime minister.
“Why has suddenly the defence minister rushed to France? What is the emergency?” he asked.
“The #GreatRafaleCoverUp has begun. To try and show the deal is legitimate, Raksha Mantri will need to generate minutes of imaginary meetings held between the
French and our Ministry of Defence and both sides will need to agree on a common story to be spun to the media. RM left for France last night,” he added on Twitter.
Asked about the purpose behind Sitharaman’s France visit, Gandhi told reporters, “To put pressure on Dassault, to silence them and do a cover up. This is the logic.”
The whole idea, he said, is to put pressure on Dassault. The media was also being put under pressure, he added, asserting that the truth on the deal will come out and there was enough material for it.
Answering a question on why other parties were not joining him in speaking on the Rafale deal, Gandhi said whether he speaks or someone else, the real issue is that “the ex-president of France - no less has said India’s prime minister is corrupt”.
Last month, French investigative publication Mediapart quoted former French president Francois Hollande as saying that France was given “no choice” on selection of Indian partner for Dassault and the Indian government proposed the Indian company’s name.
On Wednesday, Mediapart, citing an internal document of Dassault Aviation, reported that the aerospace giant was forced to enter into a joint venture with Reliance Defence as part of a trade-off to bag the contract for the 36 Rafale jet deal.
Dassault Aviation said in a statement that it has “freely chosen to make a partnership with India’s Reliance Group”.
According to Gandhi, a senior Dassault executive has said India’s prime minister pushed the contract. Now both, Hollande and Dassault, are saying the Indian prime minister has said that “without this compensation, this deal cannot be done”.
“Compensation’ for what, what has Anil Ambani done? What is he being compensated for, that is the question?” the Congress president asked.
Dassault, he said, is sitting on a huge contract and will say what the Indian government wants it to say.
“One thing is very clear... India’s prime minister got the Rafale contract for Anil Ambani’s company and this is not the only contract, some more defence contracts will come,” he said, adding that questions will be raised on the entire defence contracts.
“So to India’s youth, farmers, small shopkeepers and brothers and sisters, Narendra Modi ji has done ‘chowkidari’ of Anil Ambani and the truth is that he has given him a Rs 30,000 crore contract to save him and his business,” Gandhi alleged.
On cases of corruption against Congress leaders and his own family, he said, the BJP is in government and can carry out any kind of investigation.
Dassault Aviation said in a statement that it has “freely chosen to make a partnership with India’s Reliance Group”.