Against the backdrop of former French President Francois Hollande’s reported comments on the controversial Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said “former French president Francois Hollande is calling the PM of India a thief” and that the PM needs to break his silence.
Addressing a Press conference here, the Congress president said it is “obvious that PM Modi is corrupt.”
Rahul said the Prime Minister has “betrayed India’s soul.” Calling the Rafale deal Rs 1.3 lakh crore surgical strike on the Indian Defence forces, Rahul said Modi “dishonoured the blood of our martyred soldiers.”
“Former French president calls our PM a thief... What is staggering is that the Prime Minister is still silent on it. Not a single word from him,” Rahul said. It is considered to be the sharpest attack by Rahul on Modi on the Rafale deal.
“It is very important for the Prime Minister now to either accept Hollande’s statement or state that Hollande is lying and tell the truth,” he said.
Rahul alleged that Modi got the contract for his industrialist friend Anil Ambani to bail him out. “The Prime Minister himself has given a contract of Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani. Anil Ambani had a debt of Rs 45,000 crore and was bailed out by PM Modi,” he said.
“The PM and Anil Ambani jointly carried out a One Hundred & Thirty Thousand Crore, SURGICAL STRIKE on the Indian Defence forces. ModiJi you dishonoured the blood of our martyred soldiers. Shame on you. You betrayed India’s soul,” Rahul tweeted.
“We are absolutely convinced that the Prime Minister of India is corrupt.
This question is now clearly settled in the mind of the Indian people that ‘desh ka chowkidaar’ chor hai,” Rahul remarked at the Press conference, a phrase which he used two days ago at an election rally in Rajasthan.
The Congress, along with other Opposition parties, are now determined to make the Rafale deal an election propaganda issue both in the forthcoming assembly elections in few states and then the Lok Sabha election 2019.
Rahul also demanded a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Rafale deal. He said Hollande can also be called to testify by the JPC. “It is clear why various Defence Ministers of this Government have been lying; they want to protect PM Modi,” Rahul alleged.
