New Delhi, August 18: Congress President Rahul Gandhi has constituted a six-member team to hold conferences nationwide over Rafale deal, reported news agency ANI. Senior Congress leader Jaipal Reddy is likely to head the team. According to ANI, 50 Congress leaders to hold press conferences in 100 cities across India in coming days on Rafale deal. During ‘no-confidence motion’ in the parliament last month, Gandhi raised the controversial Rafale deal in Parliament.

The Congress president also accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying to the nation quoting the 'secrecy clause' in the pact. The Congress president also claimed that he had asked the French President about the secrecy pact and denied the existence of any such pact. However, on the same day, the French government issued a statement contradicting Gandhi’s claims which he made regarding the Rafale deal.

Initially, the UPA government signed a deal of USD 12 billion which amounts to Rs 78,000 crore (approx.) for acquiring 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), Rafale Fighter jets. Out of these 126 jets, 18 were to be procured in ‘ready to fly’ condition and rest 108 fighter jets were to be produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL).

As the UPA failed to conclude the deal before the 2014 elections, the Modi government after coming to power scrapped the old deal. The government signed a new contract in 2016, worth Rs 59,000 to acquire 36 jets in ready to fly condition.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 18, 2018 07:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).