HYDERABAD: Senior Congress leader S Jaipal Reddy said that with France’s former president Francois Hollande admitting that Indian government had given them no option in selecting a partner other than Anil Ambani’s company, Congress’ allegations on Rafale deal are coming true.
Reiterating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to answer on the Rafale deal, the former Union Minister demanded resignations of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
“France’s former president Francois Hollande himself said that only because of Indian government’s pressure had they agreed for Anil Ambani’s company in Rafale deal. With Hollande’s statement, the allegations being made by Congress on Modi till now have come true. Modi is keeping silent on the issue, fearing that truth will come out and he will be cornered. Why is he keeping silent when such a big allegation is being made. He needs to answer to the nation,” said Jaipal Reddy speaking from Gandhi Bhavan on Saturday.
Claiming that Modi’s decline has started with the Rafale deal, the former parliamentarian gunned for Union Finance and Defence Ministers.
“Both — Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Finance Minister — have been saying inside and outside the House that they do not have any relationship with Ambani’s company and they did not know about the offset contract between Ambani’s company and the French company. But, Hollande has revealed the truth. Both Arun Jaitley and Nirmala Sitharaman should resign immediately for misleading the nation with their lies,” demanded Jaipal Reddy.
He further took a jibe on Arun Jaitley saying, “Jaitley is a clever lawyer but not a dependable lawyer or a truthful one. He is loyal lawyer to Modi and not to the nation. Anil Ambani is Modi’s broker. Modi has ensured thousands of crores benefit to Anil Ambani through crony capitalism, neglecting defence PSU HAL,” added Jaipal Reddy.