Rahul Gandhi trying to build political career by spreading lies on Rafale deal: BJP
New Delhi, Oct 11 (IBNS): After Congress president Rahul Gandhi called Prime Minister Narendra Modi "corrupt", the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit out at the chief of the principal opposition party saying the latter is trying to build his political career by spreading lies on the Rafale deal (buying of 36 fighter jets by India from France), media reports said.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Rahul's family has earned from the deal which was made before 2014.
Patra also alleged that the Congress chief and his party have jeopardised the defence of the country.
Hours after a French media report said aviation company Dassault had to select Anil Ambani's company for joint venture as a "mandatory" trade-off to win the Rafale deal, Rahul on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "is corrupt".
"It is absolutely clear that the prime minister is corrupt. I repeat, the prime minister of India is a corrupt man... and sadly, his entire campaign was on fighting corruption," Rahul said at a press conference.
"He is actually not your prime minister. He is Anil Ambani's Prime Minister," Rahul added.
A report by Mediaport said a top Dassault official, Loik Segalen, had explained to his staff at a presentation last year that the joint venture with Reliance Defence was "imperative and obligatory for Dassault Aviation, to accept this condition, in order to obtain the export contract for Rafale from India".
"Earlier former French President revealed that Indian PM had told them that Reliance should get a deal. Now a senior official of #Rafale has said the same. It is a clear cut case of corruption... I repeat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is corrupt," Rahul said.
Calling Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman’s ongoing three-day trip to France a part of the “cover up” by the government in the Rafael deal, he said details of other “contracts” given to benefit industrialist Anil Ambani will soon come out.
“Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's trip to France is part of a huge government "cover-up" on Rafale. This is a clear cut case of corruption. This is not only about Rafael or defence industry. There are other contracts. More information about other contracts will come. Similar questions will be raised about other contracts,” he said.
The Congress president alleged that the Defence minister had gone to "put pressure" on Dassault. "And let me make one more thing very clear... Dassault is sitting on a massive contract... It will obviously say whatever the Indian government wants it to say. But look at the internal documentation in Dassault... that makes it clear as to what had happened"," he claimed.
Mediapart's article reinforces the explosive statement by former French president Francois Hollande last month that France did not have a choice in selecting Anil Ambani's rookie defence company for the offset clause in which Dassault has to ensure that business worth at least half the deal's worth -- Rs.30,000 crore -- is generated in India. Dassault had said even then that the decision was its own.
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