Rahul Gandhi blasts Modi over Rafale report claiming PMO held parleys with France
New Delhi, Feb 8 (NITN): Following the publication of a report in The Hindu which stated the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) held separate talks with the French government over the controversial Rafale deal (buying of 36 fighter jets by India from France), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday blasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again by calling him a "thief".
In the middle of the political fight between the BJP and Congress over the Rafale deal, The Hindu report on Friday stated the Defence Ministry had protested against PMO's separate parleys with the French government over the deal.
The report said the Defence Ministry had objected to PMO's parallel talks with the French government.
Reacting to the development, Rahul said: "For more than a year, we've been saying that PM is directly involved in Rafale scam. Today it is clear that PM himself had been carrying out a parallel negotiation."
The Congress chief also urged the Modi government to probe into cases not only related to any Congress leader but also the Rafale.
LIVE: Congress President @RahulGandhi addresses media on Rafale scam. #PakdaGayaModi https://t.co/33vWKJbGFB
— Congress (@INCIndia) February 8, 2019
"It is clear that Modi is a thief and he has stolen people's Rs. 30,000 crore and gave it to Anil Ambani," he added.
The Defence Ministry's objection has been quoted by The Hindu, "We may advise PMO that any Officers who are not part of Indian Negotiating Team may refrain from having parallel parlays [parleys] with the officers of French Government....in case the PMO is not confident about the outcome of negotiations being carried out by the MoD, a revised modality of negotiations to be led by PMO at appropriate level may be adopted in the case.”
Stating PMO's parallel talks had "weakened the negotiating position of MoD and Indian Negotiating Team," a Defence Ministry brought a note to then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's notice.
No mention of PMO in Supreme Court:
In the Supreme Court, however, the government had stated a seven-member team headed by the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff conducted the negotiations but did not mention PMO's intervention.
Giving a verdict in favour of the BJP government, the top court had stated due process in singing the deal was followed.
Francois Hollande's claim:
Congress took the matter to the centre stage after former French President Francois Hollande dropped a bombshell saying the the India government proposed Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as the India partner for the 36 Rafale jets deal.
On Friday, Rahul said that the latest media report makes it clear that the Prime Minister had bypassed the deal and gave Rs. 30,000 crore to Ambani.
BJP refutes:
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi defended his government stating "sometimes what is shown in a document happens to be not true".
Image credit: Congress Twitter
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