Lok Sabha Highlights: Amid Centre-Congress blame game, Shiv Sena demands JPC probe over Rafale deal

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a scathing attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Rafale issue. “Entire nation wants to know your reply on the Rafale deal,” Gandhi said. “Why not a single Rafale has been delivered to India,” Gandhi asked. He repeated the Congress stand that the multi-billion contract was taken away from state-owned HAL and given to Reliance. “First pillar is process, second is pricing and the third and most interesting is patronage. Senior officers of the IAF chose Rafale after long negotiations, IAF wanted 126 aircraft, why was the demand changed to 26,” Gandhi asked.

Here are LIVE updates from the Lok Sabha:

5:20 pm: Lok Sabha adjourned till 11 am on January 3, 2019.

5:18 pm: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspends 26 AIADMK members for staging protests during Wednesday's session, reports ANI.

26 AIADMK MPs have been suspended by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan for 'continuously coming to the well of the house and obstructing house proceedings' pic.twitter.com/j78nCnulCy

— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2019

4:53 pm: Lok Sabha adjourned till 5 pm.

4:43 pm: Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant demands JPC probe over Rafale deal in Lok Sabha, asks why the government is afraid of the JPC.

4:33 pm: Govt has engaged with relevant U.S. authorities, under terms of the India-U.S. Extradition Treaty of 1997, for the extradition of U.S based individuals for their role in the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai: MoS MEA VK Singh's reply in Lok Sabha.

4:22 pm: Qatar bought these aircraft at a much cheaper price, propriety and procedure questions still exist, and we have a right to ask questions, says Biju Janta Dal MP Kalikesh Singh Deo in Lok Sabha.

Biju Janta Dal MP Kalikesh Singh Deo in Lok Sabha: Qatar bought these aircraft at a much cheaper price, propriety and procedure questions still exist, and we have a right to ask questions. #RafaleDeal pic.twitter.com/XEqUkw1HIG

— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2019

4:10 pm: Reliance has a debt of Rs 8,000 crore, says Saugata Roy of TMC.

4:06 pm: TMC accuses Jaitley of indulging in blame games, says it was a mystery as to why a private firm was made the offset contract partner.

4:03 pm: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy is speaking on the Rafale issue, he asks why defence minister is not speaking on the fighter jet deal.

3:50 pm: Anil Ambani's firm was not favoured by the government, the offset partner was chosen by Dassault, the maker of Rafale jets: Jaitley in Lok Sabha.

3:49 pm: No JPC can go against the Supreme Court verdict, says Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha.

3:45 pm: Jaitley targets Congress over Bofors, National Herald and AgustaWestland scam, says Congress' hands soaked with several scams.

3:40 pm: The terms of the deal were better than the one negotiated by the UPA, says Jaitley, adding that "There were discussions on the cost of basic aircraft and weaponised aircraft. Cost of basic aircraft was 9 per cent less than UPA’s time. Cost of weaponised aircraft was 20 per cent less than UPA’s time. The time of delivery was 11 years during the UPA regime".

3:38 pm: The price of weaponed jets cannot be revealed, says Jaitley.

3:34 pm: Supreme Court is satisfied with the process of buying Rafale fighter jet deal, Jaitley said.

3:38 pm: As many as 74 meetings were held before Rafale fighter jet deal was inked, says the union minister.

3:36 pm: Nothing has been done on Rafale till 2014, it is all about the national security: Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha.

3:35 pm: Rafale was a consolidate deal: Arun Jaitley.

3:30 pm: Indian Air Force (IAF) has been demanding Rafale since 2001, says Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha.

3:00 pm: Lok Sabha adjourned till 3:30 pm.

2:59 pm: Lok Sabha Speaker admonishes the Congress lawmakers for paper planes, says “you wanted a debate, no hear him out.”

2:59 pm: Congress lawmakers fly paper planes during Rafale debate.

2:58 pm: "It is a tragedy for country that grand-old Congress party is today headed by a gentleman who doesn’t even have basic understanding of what a basic combat aircraft is," says Jaitley during Rafale debate.

2:54 pm: “If the fingers point at you in AugustaWestland, National Herald and Bofors, then it is a bit too much. Today, they have the audacity to raise an allegation against us,” Jaitley says.

2:53 pm: ‘When he (Rahul) was a young man, was he playing in the lap of one Q whose name cropped up in the Bofors case,’ says Jaitley.

2:49 pm: You don’t understand national security, you only understand paisa, Jaitley attacks Gandhi

2:48 pm: “On the last occasion, he (Rahul Gandhi) manufactured a conversation between him and the former French President. Today, he repeats the same. Today, he tried to produce a tap but he is too scared to authenticate it,” says Jaitley.

2:47 pm: Every word spoken on Rafale deal is a lie. We demand probe against the Congress for the Rafale tapes, says Jaitley.

2:43 pm: Some people have natural dislike for truth, says Jaitley

2:42 pm: “We are utterly disappointed,” Finance Minister Jaitly says in a reply to Gandhi’s Rafale debate remarks.  

2:39 pm: “The UPA was buying an aircraft at Rs 526 crore, but when (PM) Modi went to France a new deal surfaced at Rs 1600 crore per aircraft, why did the price change,” asks Rahul Gandhi.

2:37 pm: The Supreme Court has not said that the JPC can’t be formed, says Rahul Gandhi. We demand JPC in the matter, says Gandhi. The Congress chief says that the BJP leaders must not shy away from JPC.   

2:36 pm: "Who changed the Indian Air Force's demand," asks Rahul Gandhi. He also questioned that "why the deal is made-in-France."    

2:35 pm: The AIADMK is protesting to save PM Modi, alleges Gandhi.

2:34 pm: You have to take responsibility of the Rafale tape in case you play it, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tells Rahul Gandhi

2:32 pm: After 4-minute adjournment, Lok Sabha proceedings resume.

2:26 pm: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley countered rahul Gandhi and said that, “last time the MP (Rahul Gandhi) spoke on Rafale, he lied before the nation by concocting a conversation between him and the French President.”

2:24 pm: Mahajan says that even if you have to read out the transcripts, you must authenticate.

2:23 pm: Lok Sabha Speakar Sumitra Mahajan refuses Gandhi’s request.

2:21 pm: Rahul Gandhi tries to play the audio clip in which a Goa minister purportedly said that all Rafale files were in Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s ‘bedroom.’