NEW DELHI: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being directly involved in the Rafale fighter jet deal with France, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that he ran a parallel negotiation.
“We have been saying for more than a year that the Prime Minister is directly involved in the Rafale scam,” Gandhi said here whike addressing a press conference at the party headquarters on Akbar Road.
“Today, The Hindu newspaper has put it in black and white. It is absolutely clear that the Prime Minister himself was carrying out a parallel negotiation with the French,” he said.
To youngsters and the armed forces, Gandhi said: “This is your money and this is about your future. And here it is absolutely clear that Modi has stolen Rs 30,000 crore of your money and given it to his friend (an Indian industrialist).”
His remarks came after The Hindu on Friday published a report: “Defence Ministry protested against PMO undermining Rafale negotiations”.
“Now Ministry itself has said that we may advise PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) that any officers who are not part of Indian Negotiating Team may refrain from having parallel parlays,” he said reading the letter.
Quoting the remarks of the Defence Secretary in the letter to then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Gandhi said: “Even the Defence official was against such discussions” and “had desired for them to be avoided by the PMO as it “undermines our negotiating position seriously”.
“It cannot get any clearer or stronger than this,” he said.
The Congress President that it was an open and shut case as the Defence Ministry was saying that the Prime Minister ran a parallel negotiation. IANS