Rahul on Rafale: Parrikar was buying fish in Goa, had no idea Modi changed contract

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had no idea Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "changed" the Rafale contract.

At the time, Parrikar was buying fish in Goa, Gandhi told voters in Karnataka.

"Defence Minister Goa mein tha, machhi (fish) ki dukan mein machhi khareed raha tha... usko pata bhi nahi tha ke Modi Ji ne Rafale ka contract badal dia," the Congress chief said during a rally in Saundatti, ANI reported.

Defense Minister Goa mein tha, machhi (fish) ki dukan mein machhi khareed raha tha... usko pata bhi nahi tha ke Modi Ji ne #Rafale ka contract badal dia: Rahul Gandhi in #Karnataka's Saundatti pic.twitter.com/v2Ei1wJOjx

ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2018

Earlier this month, after Parrikar's successor Nirmala Sitharaman said that details of the Rafale deal couldn't be disclosed, Rahul Gandhi said Modi personally went to Paris to get it signed.

"The Defence Minister says that we will not reveal the amount paid for buying Rafale aircrafts. What does this mean? This only means there is a scam. Modiji personally went to Paris, he changed the deal. The whole country knows it," Gandhi said.

The Congress has alleged that there are irregularities in the deal - for buying 36 Rafale fighter jets off-shelf from France - and claimed that they were being bought at a price higher than the one negotiated in a previous multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal (under which as many as 126 fighter jets were to be bought).

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