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In his sharpest attack on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Rafale jet fighter deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday called him a “thief” quoting former French President Francois Hollande’s latest revelations on the defence contract. The BJP responded by calling Rahul Gandhi a “leader without any popular support” with the Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad questioning his credentials to question the Prime Minister.
The former French President told Paris-based investigative new website Mediapart on Friday that the name of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as the service provider to Dessault Aviation in the deal for 36 Rafale jet aircrafts was suggested by the Indian government. The deal was sealed between the PM Modi and Francois Hollande in April, 2015.
The Congress President called a press conference in the party headquarters. Gandhi said, “The ex President of France has made a statement about the Prime Minister of India. He says, ‘we didn’t have any say in the matter. It is the Indian government which has proposed this service group and Dessault who negotiated with Ambani. We didn’t have any choice. We took the interlocutor who was given to us.’ Now, what the ex-President of France is saying that the PM of India is a thief.”
“It is very important for the Prime Minister of India now to either accept Mr Hollande’s statement and say yes what he is telling the truth. And that is that Mr Narendra Modi gave the Rafale contract and Rs 30000 crore to Mr Anil Ambani or he says that Mr Hollande is not telling the truth and here are the facts”, he said.
On his twitter, the Congress President said, “The PM and Anil Ambani carried out a one hundred and thirty thousand crore worth surgical strike on the Indian Defence forces. Modi ji, you betrayed India’s soul.”
Mounting a counter-attack, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned Rahul Gandhi, “Congress President Rahul Gandhi has called the popular and credible leader of the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi a thief. Never has in the history of India has any political party president used such terms for the Prime Minister of India. What else can you expect from a leader who has become President of a party not because of any ability but simply because he is the product of a dynasty.”
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