Congress to hold stir over Rafale deal

Mumbai: State Congress President Ashok Chavan on Thursday attacked PM Modi over the suspicious Rafale deal and demanded that Modi and Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clear their stand on the deal at the earliest. In protest of the deal, the Congress party has organised a march on July 30, at Azad Maidan. 

“The prices at which the Modi government signed the deal was almost 300 per cent higher than what was proposed by the UPA government. The BJP government is filling its coffers with the money of innocent taxpayers. They deserve to know the real price of the planes purchased by the government because it is almost 300 per cent higher. The country wants to know the real price. Sitharaman has maintained a stand that according to the agreement signed between both the countries, the cost of jet planes cannot be revealed. However, the French president has denied any such pact. The government should tell the truth without any further delay,” he said. 

He said the BJP government allotted this contract to a firm having no experience in dealing of defense equipment. “On the other hand, a firm like Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which has been in this industry for years, was overlooked,” he added.