Modi’s boat of corruption will sink: Congress
BJP government, which is full of graft, can no longer remain above investigations: Party
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday targeted the Narendra Modi government over the Rafale deal saying its “boat of corruption” will sink after the Supreme Court asked for details of pricing and told the Centre to go public on the selection process of the Indian offset partner.
“The BJP government, which is full of corruption, can no longer remain above investigations. The accused can no longer run away from the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe,” Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a video message.
He said India now knows that the effect of Rafale is failure of transparency, Make in India, government PSUS and failure to generate employment.
The Congress’ reaction came after the apex court sought more information from the government on the Rafale jet deal, including its pricing and deemed advantages.
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi told the centre it should state in anafi davit the “dificulty” in sharing the information on pricing after Attorney General KK Venugopal said “it might not be possible to disclose the cost.”
The bench also directed that the government to share with the petitioners the details that it has furnished before the court, relating to the decision-making process leading to the purchase of the 36 Rafale jets in a ly-away condition.
It told the government to share “as far as possible” the selection process for the Indian offset partner in the purchase of 36 Rafale ighter jets with both the petitioners and the public.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday paid rich tribute to “Congressman” Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 143rd birth anniversary and said he was a man of “steel will” and had “no tolerance for bigotry or communalism.”
“Sardar Patel was a patriot, who fought for an independent, united and secular India. A man with a steely will, tempered by compassion. He was a Congressman to the core, who had no tolerance for bigotry or communalism,” Gandhi’s tribute said.
Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram expressed concern on Wednesday on reports that the government had invoked a hitherto unused section of the RBI Act to direct the central bank to act at its bidding, saying it shows that the government is “desperate” and “hiding facts” about the economy.
“If, as reported, government has invoked Section 7 of the RBI Act and issued unprecedented directions to the RBI, I am afraid there will be more bad news today,” Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.