Lucknow: Congress president Rahul Gandhi has promised more revelations on the Rafale jet deal in the coming months, stepping up his attack on the Modi government ahead of Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
On a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Amethi, Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a “thief".
“Abhi to shuruaat hai, aane wale do teen mahino mein aur mazaa aayega. Hum dikha denge ki Narendra Modi ji chaukidar nahi, chor hain (This is just the beginning. Things will get interesting in the coming two-three months. We will prove that Narendra Modi is not protector but thief)," he said.
Gandhi also asked the prime minister for answers on several issues relating to the Rafale jet fighter deal and also to clarify as to why former French president Francois Hollande allegedly called him a "thief".
"The chowkidar of the country has taken out Rs 20,000 crore from the pockets of the poor, martyrs and the jawans and put it in the pocket of Anil Ambani," Gandhi said.
The Congress chief arrived here on a two-day visit, the first after his Kailash Mansarover pilgrimage, and said the people of the country want to know the amount involved in the Rafale deal. "Why was the price not disclosed...how was the contract given to Anil Ambani... serious charges have been levelled by former French president Francois Hollande," he said.
"The prime minister could not look me in the eye (in Parliament). PM gives speeches but no answers... he does not have the courage to give reply. Under the BJP government, the farmers and poor are crying... the present government is providing all benefits to a select five to 10 people," he said, alleging people like Anil Ambani, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi are getting all benefits.
The Reliance Group, in a statement quoting Anil Ambani's letter to Gandhi last month, had said, "Allegations of Reliance benefitting by thousands of crores is a figment of imagination, promoted by vested interests."
French company Dassault, which is supplying the fighter jets, has entered into a joint venture with Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence to meet its offset obligations to create business for Indian firms, following the Rafale deal.
Escalating his tirade against the Modi government on the Rafale issue, Rahul said the contract worth thousands of crores of rupees could have provided jobs "to youth of Amethi, to engineers...it could have given employment to thousands of youth... aircraft with French technology would have been made in India... the nation would have benefitted from it."
"The deal worth thousands of crores, which could have benefitted the youth and the country, was given to an industrialist," he said.
"Soon after becoming the prime minister, 'chowkidarji' goes straight to France and enters into a deal with the president of that country...," Gandhi said and alleged, "Modiji says leave HAL...the contract has to be given to Anil Ambani."
Addressing the party's social media team in Musafirkhana area later in the evening, Gandhi said he would prove that the charges against the Modi government were true. "There is chori (theft) in the works of Narendra Modi — Rafale, Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi, Notebandi (demonetisation), Gabbar Singh Tax (referring to GST). There is theft in all these. One by one, we will prove that Narendra Modi ji is not a 'chowkidaar'. Narendra Modi is a 'chor' (thief)," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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