The BJP on Monday went on the offensive against the Congress, claiming that party president, Rahul Gandhi, is casting aspersions on the Rafale deal because his brother-in-law Robert Vadra’s business partner Sanjay Bhandari couldn’t be a middleman in the contract. On former French president Francois Hollande’s revelations on Anil Ambani being awarded the contract for offsets in the Rafale deal, the BJP maintained that the Congress is seeking “foreign help” in ousting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described the blitzkrieg on Rafale as a plan to counter the “perception war”. “Wrong facts are being put out in the media on Rafale. We will set the record straight,” the Defence Minister said.

Fresh heat on Rafale has been generated by the former French President who told a Paris-based news portal ‘Mediapart’ last Friday that the Indian government in 2015, suggested Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence to be the service provider to Dassault Aviation, a French aircraft manufacturer.

‘Ousting Modi’

Minister of State (MoS) for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that the Congress is behind Hollande’s statement. “First Rahul Gandhi quoted Macron (French President) to talk about Rafale in Parliament. Then on August 30, he tweeted that Rafale bomb will be dropped from France. And on September 21, Hollande made his statement on Rafale. Please join the dots. Hollade is a former president who is under investigation on several issues,” said Shekhawat. “We have seen in the past — when Mani Shankar Aiyar (senior Congress leader) went to Pakistan and asked for help in getting Narendra Modiji out of the Prime Minister’s office — that the Congress has no hesitation in taking foreign help in ousting Modiji,” said Shekhawat.

Earlier in the day, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra read out tweets by Pakistani leaders, including Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan attacking Modi. He said they have been “campaigning” for Rahul Gandhi. “Some people want Rahul Gandhi to become a big leader in India. Who are they? They are Pakistani leaders, and also those who stand for corruption, dynasty, and politics of appeasement,” Patra said.

Shekhawat said, “They (the Congress) are so enraged by the deal because it has no middleman. Sanjay Bhandari has been seen together with Robert Vadra at several defence expos. The Congress cancelled the Rafale deal because Dassault did not agree to partner with Offsets India Solutions, aerospace company linked to Vadra,” he said.

The Congress, on its part, described the BJP’s charges as “silly”.

“We have made a very comprehensive and responsible analysis of the Rafale deal and approached the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the Central Vigilance Commission for a financial audit of this contract. But each time we demand investigation with fresh facts that prima facie suggest wrongdoing, we meet with obfuscation, ridicule, diversion and digression. “It exposes the extent of desperation of the BJP and its high functionaries,” said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

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