Rahul Gandhi said he was prepared for any inquiry while demanding a probe into the Rafale deal too. (File)The BJP on Saturday targetted Rahul Gandhi after a news report claimed that an alleged former business partner of the Congress chief received an offset contract of a defence deal during the previous UPA government.
BJP chief Amit Shah was the first among the BJP leaders to attack the Congress chief over the report, saying “with Rahul Gandhi’s Midas Touch, no deal is too much”.
“With Rahul Gandhi’s Midas Touch, no deal is too much! When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn’t matter if India suffers on the way! #StealLikeRaga,” Shah tweeted.
With Rahul Gandhi’s Midas Touch, no deal is too much!
When he has a say, his business partners make hay. Doesn’t matter if India suffers on the way!#StealLikeRagahttps://t.co/rb9H6QOVwx
— Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 4, 2019
According to a report in Business Today magazine, Ulrik Mcknight, a co-promoter of a UK-based firm — Backops UK — in which Gandhi owned a majority stake, received defence contract as an offset partner of the French firm Naval Group during the UPA regime. According to filings by Backops UK, Gandhi and Mcknight were the founding directors of the company. Rahul Gandhi owned a majority of 65 per cent equity between 2003 and 2009 before the firm was wound up, the report said.
In 2011, Mcknight went on to acquire offset contracts from Naval Group for Scorpene submarines.
Rahul Gandhi said he was prepared for any inquiry while demanding a probe into the Rafale deal too, where the Congress chief has targeted the government over selection of Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence as an offset partner for Dassault Aviation.
“Please undertake any investigation you want, do any inquiry you want, I am ready as I know I have not done anything wrong, but please also investigate Rafale,” Gandhi said at a press conference earlier in the day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too joined the bandwagon and accused the Congress of favouring its “friend” in its own defence deal.
“Today I read that during UPA, one of naamdar’s business partners got defence offset contracts. Apni sarkar, dost bhi apna aur raksha sauda bhi bada yaani naamdar ke liye malai ka poora intezam tha (It was their government, their friend and their own defence deal…. which means they had arranged it all),” PM Modi said while addressing a rally at Pratapgarh.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the charges were “serious” and Mcknight was a member of the social gang of Rahul Gandhi.
Jaitley said Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka were directors in Backops Services Pvt. Ltd, which was registered in India in 2002 and then a firm of a similar name was registered in the UK in which Rahul and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.
“It is the story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and today aspires to be India’s PM. It’s a serious charge and I think it’s my responsibility to make good discharge. Although Ulrik Mcknight is an American citizen he is a member of the ‘social gang’ of Rahul ji,” ANI quoted Jaitley as saying.
Alleging that it was an “influence for cash” company, Jaitley said Mcknight was married to a Congress leader’s daughter. Gandhi and Mcknight registered the same London address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor Amitabh Bachchan.
In 2009, Rahul Gandhi left the UK firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, Jaitley said.
“The question is how will you like now to be judged. You are judging others when there is no evidence. You distance yourself from a shady company launched by you and then your partner gets an offset contract,” he said.
Rejecting the charge, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said the allegation needs to be proved.
