FM slams Rahul’s Rafale ‘lies’

NEW DELHI: Seizing upon CEO Eric Trappier’s rebuttal of Rahul Gandhi’s charges of corruption on the Rafale deal, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday lashed out at the leader of the principal opposition party.


“Falsehood is not a substitute for Rahul Gandhi’s failed politics,” Jaitley tweeted. “Realising that the Modi government bought the Rafale jets at a price cheaper than what UPA was negotiating, the disrupters are now resorting to petty hair-splitting,” he further said, referring to Trappier’s claim that the price negotiated by NDA for the French fighter jets works out to be 9% cheaper than the rate UPA had negotiated with Dassault.

He said UPA delayed the Rafale purchase, much required for improving the combat ability of the Indian Air Force. “Is Rahul Gandhi’s failed politics compelling him to render India’s sensitive defence requirements controversial?” Jaitley questioned.

The riposte came on a day when Congress kept up its attack on the Modi government for alleged corruption in Rafale deal and dismissed the Centre’s claim in the Supreme Court that it had followed the procedures set by UPA when it sought to purchase the fighter jets from France.

In a shift of stance, the government had on Monday overcome its reluctance to share with the apex court the pricing details of the Rafale fighters in a sealed envelope.

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