Rafale Deal Row: Congress to Move Privilege Motion Against PM Narendra Modi, Nirmala Sitharaman
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been targetting the Modi government, alleging irregularities in purchase of Rafael aircrafts.
New Delhi, July 23: The Congress is planning to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in connection with alleged corruption in a deal with France to purchase Rafale fighter jets. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been targetting the Modi government, alleging irregularities in purchase of Rafael aircraft.
Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that he smelled a scam in the Rafale deal, claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi "squirmed" when questions over the price of the fighter planes were raised in Parliament. "The PM squirms when asked about the price of Rafale and refuses to look me in the eye. Sure smells like a scam," he said on Twitter.
During the debate on a no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha on Friday, Rahul Gandhi had said that French President had told him personally that there was no secret pact between the two government while Sitharaman said there was. "Our Defence Minister said she would, but now she won't. She flip flops between 'it's-not-a-secret' & 'it's-a-BIG-secret'," he said.
Rahul says the price of each plane during the UPA regime was Rs 520 crore but when Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to France and "with some magic", the rate for each aircraft increased to Rs 1,600 crore. The government is not revealing the price of the jets citing specific secrecy pacts with France.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2018 01:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).