NEW DELHI: A political war of words continued on the Rafale fighter jet deal on Saturday with Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar hitting back on Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anil Ambani had jointly carried out a "surgical strike" on the defence forces.
Javadekar tweeted, "After the categoric statements of Dassault and French Govt, the lies of Rahul Gandhi & Congress leaders have been nailed. @INCIndia stand thoroughly exposed. They should now stop spreading canards on #RafaelDeal”.
The minister attached to his tweet the French government and Dassault's clarification on Francois Hollande being quoted as saying that the Indian government proposed the name of Anil Ambani’s Reliance group as Dassault Aviation’s offset partner.
Rahul's renewed attack on Modi came a day after a French media report quoted former French president Francois Hollande as purportedly saying that the Indian government proposed Ambani's Reliance Defence as the partner for Dassault Aviation in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal and France did not have a choice.
"The PM and Anil Ambani jointly carried out ...SURGICAL STRIKE on the Indian Defence forces. Modi Ji you dishonoured the blood of our martyred soldiers. Shame on you. You betrayed India's soul (sic)," Gandhi tweeted.
Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after holding talks with then French President Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris.
The opposition party has been accusing the government of choosing Reliance Defence over state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to benefit the private firm though it did not have any experience in the aerospace sector.