New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to social media on Sunday morning to hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal controversy. He posted an image [below] with the caption ‘Chor ki dadhi’ (thief’s beard).
The Rafale deal for 36 fighter jets worth 7.8 billion Euros was signed in 2016 between the Indian government and French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
The Congress party had demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the deal after France initiated its judicial inquiry into the same in June.
The Congress has consistently accused the Modi government of signing the contract with France at a much higher price than negotiated during the UPA rule. The opposition party also alleged favouritism, claiming that Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence had been signed on as the offset partner by weapons manufacturer Dassault Aviation even though the company had no previous experience.
In response to Rahul Gandhi’s social media post, BJP IT department in-charge Amit Malviya said on Twitter, “Rahul Gandhi, after having heaped choicest abuses in the run up to 2019, has now stooped down to this level. People across India have rejected him but he is most welcome to fight 2024 elections on this issue!”
In April 2021, French publication Mediapart had reported on the alleged wrongdoings in the Rafale deal. Citing an investigation by France’s anti-corruption agency, the publication had reported that Dassault Aviation had paid about one million Euros to an Indian middleman. Dassault Aviation had rejected the allegations of corruption.
On June 14, France opened an investigation into the alleged “corruption and favouritism” in the Rafale deal signed in 2016 on the basis of Mediapart’s reports and a complaint filed by NGO Sherpa.
On July 2, Mediapart reported that a French judge had been appointed to lead the judicial probe.
On July 3, the Congress party in India issued a detailed press release claiming that France’s latest action had exposed the corruption of the Modi government’s deal and Rahul Gandhi, hence, stood ‘vindicated’. The opposition party demanded a JPC probe into the case.
However, in 2019, India’s Supreme Court heard a public interest case on the deal and said it saw nothing wrong with it. India Today
