Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not want the truth behind the Rafale fighter aircraft deal to come out before the Gujarat elections, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asked what the country’s defence minister was doing in Goa’s fish market when the Prime Minister was in France in connection with the multi-billion dollar deal. “Have you heard of Rafale aircraft. It is the fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The deal was for 136 aircraft. Narendra Modiji goes to France and changes the entire contract. This contract is given to one of his industrialist friends. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which is a government company for manufacturing aircraft, is overlooked and the contract is given to an industrialist who has not made a single aircraft in his life,” Rahul said while addressing a large gathering at Lunavada in Mahisagar district. Rahul said the PM should give answers to three questions. “Now that the contract has been changed, has the cost of the aircraft increased or decreased? Why was the contract given to an industrialist who has no previous experience in building aircraft? How much money will he be making? Thirdly, have you followed the procedures?” “Modiji does not want to give answers, and so the Parliament is shut. PM Modi has kept Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha closed, because he is afraid that the people of Gujarat will come to know about the truth of Rafale and Jay Shah (BJP president Amit Shah’s son). So Parliament will open only after Gujarat elections are over.” Rahul also hit out at BJP president Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah and his business enterprise that reportedly managed to increase its turnover from Rs 50,000 to Rs 80 crore in one year. Meanwhile, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi demanded an investigation into the allegations made by Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel who had claimed he was offered a bribe of Rs 1,200 crore by CM Vijay Rupani’s chief principal secretary K Kailashnathan while he was in a Rajasthan jail.
