Rafale deal

Union minister VK Singh has raised questions over the capability of the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in refurbishing fighter planes, saying parts of aircraft had fallen off the runway, in an apparent reference to the recent Mirage 2000 crash in which two pilots were killed.

Disgruntled BJP lawmaker Shatrughan Sinha joined a rally of opposition leaders here on Wednesday and took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking would his “56-inch chest” reduce in size if he spoke on the Rafale issue.

The much-awaited CAG report is a mixed bag for the BJP government. So, even as it says the 2016 contract signed by the Modi government for 36 Rafale aircraft was 2.86% cheaper.

Pune: Minister of State for External Affairs General V K Singh Wednesday raised questions over the…

Congress president Rahul Gandhi noted that the CAG report on the Rafale deal does not mention the dissent note by negotiators and said he doesn’t think its worth the paper its written on.

Union Minister Arun Jaitley said the lies of the Congress and opposition parties stand exposed by the CAG report on Rafale, which reaffirms the dictum that truth shall prevail. 

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge took a jibe at Centre saying, ‘the Centre is prejudiced who have already made a decision, so this report holds no value.’ The Rafale jet deal controversy has been on the boil over the last few months.

Stepping up his attack on Prime Minister Modi over the Rafale issue, Rahul Gandhi cited a media report to claim that the PM’s argument of better pricing and faster delivery of the jets to defend the deal has been ‘demolished’.

BJP President Amit Shah’s ‘real’ mission during his Goa visit on Saturday was to take away files related to Rafale deal from CM Manohar Parrikar’s bedroom, Goa Congress spokesperson Jitendra Deshprabhu alleged.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also hit back, accusing Rahul Gandhi of working as a lobbyist for a competitive aircraft supplier company.