Rafale Deal: Rahul Gandhi demands probe against 'corrupt' PM Modi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched an unsparing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversial deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France.

Referring to a recent expose by a senior executive of Dassault Aviation – the French company responsible for making the Rafale aircraft - that it was mandatory to choose a particular Indian partner for the deal, Gandhi said that there was a clear-cut case of “corruption” against Modi and his role should be investigated.

"Dassault is sitting on a huge contract. Dassault will say what the Indian govt wants it to say. Their internal document clearly stated that PM has said without this compensation the deal will not be done," Gandhi said while addressing a press conference in Delhi.

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"Rafale deal is a clear-cut case of corruption against Modi. He is directly involved in this corruption and his role should be investigated," the Congress chief said.

The latest attack against Modi by the Congress president came after a senior executive of the Dassault Aviation claimed that the company had to choose Anil Ambani's Reliance as a "mandatory" trade-off to win the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale deal.

"Rafale company's senior executive has clearly stated that choosing Anil Ambani's company was a compensation for the purchase of Rafale. They have admitted that it was 'imperative and obligatory' for Dassault Aviation to accept this compensation in order to obtain Rafale contract," the Gandhi scion said.

The Congress leader said that Modi is not the Prime Minister of India but a PM of Anil Ambani as he gave away public money worth Rs 30,000 crore to Reliance, a debt-ridden company that started its defence business just 10 days before the deal was signed.

Gandhi also raised questions on Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s sudden three-day France tour and said the visit was a clear message that the government was trying to cover this up.

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"The #GreatRafaleCoverUp has begun. To try and show the deal is legit, Raksha Mantri will need to generate minutes of imaginary meetings held between the French & our MOD & both sides will need to agree on a common story to be spun to the media," Gandhi tweeted.