New Delhi, January 2: The Congress on Wednesday released a purported audio clip of Goa cabinet minister Vishwajit Rane, in which he says chief minister Manohar Parrikar is holding the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government to ransom over Rafale fighter jet deal with France. Citing the audio recording, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Manohar Parrikar has all documents related to the Rafale deal in his bedroom and is blackmailing the Modi government.

"During the cabinet meeting, Manohar Parrikar made an interesting statement. He said he has all files related to Rafale deal in his bedroom....This means he is holding them to ransom," Vishwajit Rane was heard saying in the conversation which Surjewala claimed took place after a cabinet meeting of Goa last week. "The audio reveals that files are hidden in the bedroom of Parrikar. Why are those files being hidden? These revelations on Rafale scam are stated by none other than a BJP MLA," the Congress leader added.

"Goa Minister Rane has made sensational revelations that all the Rafale files and notings are with Parrikar. Rane has unravelled everything behind the Rafale deal. If Modi has nothing to hide, then why those files are in Parrikar's bedroom which he is using to ensure that nobody does anything to him (Parrikar)," said Surjewala. Rafale Deal: Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Prashant Bhushan Move Supreme Court for Review of Rafale Judgment.

Reiterating the Congress allegation that the Rafale deal was "India's biggest defence scam", Surjewala demanded to know why the files were with Parrikar and asked if Modi was "afraid" of the Goa Chief Minister. Reacting to the audio clip, Rane said Parrikar had made no reference to Rafale.

"The audio tape is doctored. Congress has stooped to such a low level to doctor a tape to create miscommunication between cabinet and CM. Parrikar has never made any reference to Rafale or any documents. I have asked him for a criminal investigation into this," the Goa minister said.

गोवा के मंत्री विश्वजीत राणे की बातचीत से साफ है कि गहमागहमी के बीच CM, श्री मनोहर पार्रिकर ने कथित रूप से कहा कि कोई उनका कुछ नहीं कर सकता व राफेल की सारी फाईलें उनके पास हैं।

ज़रूर सुने: https://t.co/rNXKplpnTL#RafaleAudioLeak

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) January 2, 2019

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over the Rafale deal with France and asking why a 70-year-old defence public sector company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was ignored for manufacturing the fighter jet.

Gandhi has also questioned how the cost of one aircraft, which was Rs 540 crore when the UPA government had signed the deal, rose to thrice its value to Rs 1,600 crore under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 02, 2019 11:33 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).