New Delhi: The Congress party on Wednesday went on to claim that Prime Minister Modi was involved in the Rafale deal directly and that he is hiding very much about the issue. The issue of Rafale deal seems to be the main target of the Congress party against BJP for the coming Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
Senior Congress leader Anand Shama questioned the silence of Prime Minister Modi and said that it was the Prime Minister who was fully aware of the fact that the offset contracts would not be handed over to state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
“It was his (Modi’s) decision. Only he was privy to what he was going to do,” Mr Sharma said, while addressing a press conference at the party office here.
The Congress leader further said that there was a high hope that the Prime Minister would speak out over the issue of national importance, but he still chose to remain silent while speaking of tall claims.
“The Prime Minister has much to hide in the Rafale deal. His silence raises fundamental questions, because he is directly complicit and personally accountable for it,” he alleged.
Mr. Sharma also claimed that the Rafale deal was the biggest ever scam in the Indian history and reiterated his party’s demand to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into it.
The Congress leader and former Union minister also wanted to know the reason behind Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to France, for which the official statement has been given that she will take stock of the progress of French firm Dassault Aviation supplying 36 Rafale jets to the Indian Air Force under the Rs. 58,000-crore deal.
He also said that there was a hike in the actual price of the French fighter aircraft for which India has placed an order and sought the Prime Minister to clear all related doubts about the deal that needs to be answered.
He also said that more details regarding the deal would come out if a forensic audit of it is carried out.
The Congress has been claiming that the French aircraft cost was significantly raised compared to the previous deal that United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government signed with the French authorities.
The main opposition party has also made demands for Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to answer the reason behind state-run HAL not being involved in the deal as it was finalized during the UPA regime.
You May Also Read: Health Benefits Of Turmeric And Curcumin