Rahul Gandhi asks Narendra Modi to 'be a man' and answer on Rafale

Rahul took to Twitter to ask Modi whether the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the defence ministry had objected to the "bypassing" of the Rafale deal.

The Congress chief, whose party was linked to several scams during the latter part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, had alleged that Modi gave the offset contract to his businessman friend Anil Ambani to benefit the latter.

The Congress supremo's tweet reads, "With all due respect Modi Ji, in our culture respect for women begins at home. Stop shaking. Be a man and answer my question: Did the Air Force and Defence Ministry object when you bypassed the original Rafale deal? Yes? Or No? "

The deal has led to a major face-off between Rahul and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Modi.

On Wednesday, Rahul took a dig at Modi saying that the Prime Minister, who is not appearing in the parliament, is hiding behind Sitharaman.

While Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha that doubts raised on her statement on HAL contracts was "incorrect and misleading", law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hit out at the Congress president accusing him of "sabotaging India's security".

Prasad, while addressing media outside parliament, posed three questions to Gandhi and asked him if he was lobbying for Eurofighter jets.

Congress had on Sunday alleged that the Minister had "lied" in Parliament that government orders worth Rs one lakh crore were provided to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha, "I would like to set all doubts to rest... the doubts raised in this regard are incorrect and misleading."

The Rafale fighter jet debate continued to rock parliament on Monday as Sitharaman faced protests by Opposition MPs during her speech in the Lower House.

Image: Congress Twitter