Rahul raises Rafale heat, says Modi stole ₹ 30,000cr

The Rafale controversy continued unabated with Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanding answers to questions raised by a media report that the PMO conducted parallel negotiations on the Rafale deal, saying it is now “crystal clear” that the “watchman” is the “thief” as he ramped up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It is an open and shut case... It is now crystal clear that the watchman is the thief. — Rahul Gandhi, Cong chief

Making it clear that he has no problem if the government pushes probe agencies to investigate his brother- in- law Robert Vadra or senior party leader P. Chidambaram as long as it also answers questions on the contentious defence deal.

“It is an open and shut case,” Mr Gandhi declared citing the report which claimed that the ministry of defence ( MoD) raised strong objections to “parallel discussions” conducted by the Prime Minister’s Office ( PMO) during the negotiations over the ` 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal

■ Continued from Page 1 between India and France. The Congress president brought in his brother- in- law Robert Vadra and senior leader P. Chidambaram to make his point. “Whatever inquiry you want to do, you do it. You implement the law. Robert Vadra, P. Chidambaram — you implement the law on everyone. No problem. But you also give answers on the Rafale matter.”

At a press conference here, Mr Gandhi responded to charges made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha on Thursday that the Congress did not want the Indian Air Force ( IAF) to be strong.

He said he wanted to address every member of the armed forces. “It is absolutely clear that the Prime Minister has stolen ` 30,000 crore of your money, bypassed a process, and given it to his friend Mr Anil Ambani.”

Mr Gandhi also reiterated his demand for a joint parliamentary committee to probe the Rafale deal.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, “I have great respect for the august office of the PMO. But, I would regretfully say, the PMO almost behaved like a middleman in

this defence transaction. They must answer to our direct charge.”

Both the government as well as Mr Ambani have strongly denied any wrongdoing in the fighter jet agreement with France.

The BJP reacted furiously to Mr Gandhi’s allegations. Party spokesman G. V. L. Naramimha Rao used the “chor” barb to allege that Mr Gandhi was making wild allegations due to questioning of his brother- in- law Robert Vadra by the ED in a money laundering case.