Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress on Thursday locked horns over the alleged scam in Rafale deal. While the former held a protest march seeking a parliamentary panel inquiry, the BJP asked its party workers to go all out against any misinformation spread by the Opposition.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the Centre had nothing to do with Dassault’s choice of Indian partner. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi also had nothing to do with the deal. The Opposition is unnecessarily creating confusion whereas we are a transparent government. We should be on the offensive,” Mr. Gadkari said at the State BJP council meeting at Rangsharda Hall in Bandra.
The minister claimed that the cost negotiated by the NDA for Rafale jets was 40% cheaper than what the UPA had agreed upon. “India has been buying fighter aircraft since 2002. Today I feel sad about the condition of the aircraft we have right now. Many planes have crashed. Even the condition of helicopters is such that (it feels as if) you are sitting in a truck. Mr. Modi travels in such helicopters,” he said.
The Congress on the other hand demanded that a Joint Parliamentary Committee be set up to probe the Rafale deal. “We want to ask Mr. Modi as to who is pocketing the money from this deal? Who is behind this? The former French president said that his government wanted to give the contract to Hindustan Aeronautics, but India’s PM did not agree to this. He forced us to give the contract to Anil Ambani’s Reliance company,” party’s State in-charge Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Besides Mr. Kharge, State Congress chief Ashok Chavan and Mumbai unit president Sanjay Nirupam participated in the march, which was taken out from Mahalaxmi Racecourse to August Kranti Ground.
Meanwhile, the Congress’ ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is struggling for an explanation after its president Sharad Pawar in an interview to a news channel said, “I do not think people still have any doubt over the integrity of Mr. Modi as a person.”
NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said the news channel has been purposely distorting Mr. Pawar’s statement. “He (Mr. Pawar) has clearly said that since those in power are not making any official statements on the issue, this questions their integrity.”
BJP president Amit Shah took to Twitter thanking Mr. Pawar. “I thank Shri @PawarSpeaks Ji, a former Defence Minister and veteran MP, for placing national interests above party politics and speaking the truth. Dear @RahulGandhi, you would be wiser by believing your own ally and a leader of Pawar Saheb’s stature.”
Mr. Kharge said it was the NCP chief’s personal opinion and it would not change his party’s stand on the issue.