Modi won’t survive if Rafale is probed: Rahul

Alleging French defence major Dassault Aviation of paying “kickback” to secure the Rafale deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not survive if the “huge corruption” in the purchase was probed.

Citing two reasons for his claims, he said: “One, because of corruption. Two, because it is very clear who the decision maker was… Nobody would be able to say that some general in the Air Force or the Defence Minister or some bureaucrat from the Defence Ministry. It was a deal done by Narendra Modi to give Anil Ambani Rs 30,000 crore,” he said.

Gandhi also said that if there was nothing to hide, Modi would have ordered an inquiry into the decision to purchase the fighter jets from France.

Referring to Dassault Aviation investing Rs 284 crore in a “loss making” Indian company, Gandhi said it was the “first instalment of kickback” that was paid by the French defence major to secure the deal.

Reiterating that French President Emmanuel Macron had told him that there was no secrecy clause about the price factor in the Rafale deal, Gandhi said: “Pricing cannot be part of the secrecy clause.

Rahul’s allegation ‘blatant lie’: Reliance

Mumbai: Reliance Infrastructure on Friday rejected allegations by Congress President Rahul Gandhi that Dassault Aviation invested Rs 284 crore in a “loss making” Indian company to secure the Rafale jet deal.

Reliance said the Congress was once again resorting to “blatant lies” and “distorted facts” to mount an “unwarranted campaign of calumny and falsehoods” against the Reliance Group and its Chairman Anil Ambani.

A Reliance Infrastructure Ltd spokesperson said it was “deeply unfortunate” that the group and its Chairman were continuously being dragged into a political battle ahead of the state and general elections.

It said that Dassault’s investment in Reliance Airport Developers Ltd (RADL) had no link whatsoever with the Rafale contract between the Indian and French governments on a government-to-government basis where all 36 aircraft were to be exported by France.