Did not discuss Rafale: Goa CM Manohar Parrikar writes in his letter to Rahul Gandhi

Parrikar, who is suffering for rmonths now from what he called a life-threatening illness, presented the state budget on Wednesday with a tube in his nose.

The two-page letter written by the CM to Gandhi has been posted by the Bharatiya Janata Party on its Twitter page.  

"I feel let down that you have used this visit for your petty political gains. In the 5 minutes you spent with me, neither did you mention anything about Rafale, nor did we discuss anything related to it.," the CM wrote.

Parrikar, who had earlier served as the Defence Minister, clarified that the procurement of the Rafale was as per the Defence Procurement Procedure.

Parrikar wrote in the letter: “I have said this before and wish to reiterate it again in today’s context too. The fighter aircraft are procured following all stated procedures keeping national security as top priority.” 

Referring to Gandhi's visit, he said: “Paying a courtesy visit and then stooping so low as to make a false statement for petty political gain has raised, in my mind, questions about the sincerity and purpose of your visit itself.”

“Here am I fighting against a life-threatening illness. Due to my training and ideological strength. I wish to serve Goa and its people against any/all odds. I thought your visit would give me your good wishes in that cause of serving our people. Little did I know that you had other intentions,” he said.

Gandhi met Parrikar on Tuesday.

Rahul Gandhi was addressing an event in Delhi on Wednesday when he claimed that he met former defence minister and Goa CM Manohar Parrikar who told him that he was not informed about the changes in the deal. 

"The truth has a way of coming out and Modi govt can't hide from it. They bypassed years of negotiations undertaken by the UPA govt with the sole purpose of benefiting Anil Ambani: Congress President," Gandhi said as he tried to corner Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal.

Rahul's Rafale allegations:

The Congress president alleged that Modi bypassed the Rafale deal and gave the offset contract to his businessman friend Anil Ambani to benefit the latter.

Though the Supreme Court had said that specific process was being followed in signing the deal, the main rival party has made Rafale an election issue to attack the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Image: Manohar Parrikar Twitter page