Congress says Rafale deal corruption can't be hidden

Dubbing Trappier's interview as dictated and manufactured lies, the Congress said the "Rafale scam" cannot be suppressed

Alleging a "fixed match" between the Modi government and Rafale maker Dassault Aviation, the Congress on Tuesday said the "blatant corruption" in the fighter jet deal cannot be hidden and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into it.

"The nation does not need doctored explanations but fair investigation. A fixed match between the BJP government and Dassault and public relation stunts of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and (Dassault Aviation CEO) Eric Trappier can't hide the blatant corruption," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

His comments come in the wake of Trappier's remarks in an interview to an Indian media outlet, rubbishing Congress President Rahul Gandhi's charges of "lying" and asserting that the intergovernmental deal to buy 36 Rafales was "clean". Trappier also said that the company itself chose Anil Ambani as offset partner for the deal and clarified that it had 30 more such partners other than Reliance.

Dubbing Trappier's interview as "dictated" and "manufactured lies", the Congress said the "Rafale scam" cannot be suppressed. "Mutual beneficiaries and co-accused's statements hold no value. Beneficiaries and accused can't be judge in their own case," said Surjewala, daring the Modi government to submit itself for a JPC probe.

Leading the attack on the issue, Gandhi has accused Modi of corruption and Trappier of lying. Alleging "huge corruption", Gandhi had claimed that the deal was "done by Modi to give Anil Ambani Rs 30,000 crore". The Congress has earlier too rejected Dassault's justifications of the deal, saying the company will say whatever the Modi government wanted it to say.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!