Devendra Fadnavis Takes Dig at Congress, Says Half of Their Party Workers Don't Know If Rafale is an Aircraft or a Cycle
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have locked horns over the Rafale deal between India and France.
Mumbai, September 28: The battle over the Rafale fighter aircraft deal is getting intense by the day. The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have locked horns over the deal between India and France. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday while commenting on Congress allegations, quipped that "half of the Congress workers do not know whether Rafale is an aircraft or a cycle or a motorcycle." Rafale Deal 'Government-to-Government' Discussion, Wasn't In-charge when Agreement Reached: French President Emmanuel Macron
Fadnavis, while addressing a BJP meet in Mumbai said that the Congress was trying to create confusion by levelling baseless allegations on issues like Rafale Deal. He added that the deal was between the governments of India and France and involved no middlemen.
On Thursday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi continued his verbal assault against the government on the Rafale deal row and took a poetic jibe on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of compromising the interests of the Indian Army for benefitting industrialist Anil Ambani.
Meanwhile, in a jolt to the Congress on Wednesday, former ally and NCP chief Sharad Pawar backed the Prime Minister over the Rafale deal. Pawar said that people "do not have doubts" over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intentions on Rafale deal. He made the statement while talking to Marathi news channel. The former defence minister also said that opposition's demand to share technical details related to the fighter jets "makes no sense".
Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after holding talks with the French president Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris. The final deal was sealed on September 23, 2016. The Congress has raised several questions about the deal including the rates and accused the government of compromising national interest and security while promoting "crony capitalism" and causing a loss to the public exchequer.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 28, 2018 03:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).