BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Tuesday accused the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of "manufacturing lies" on the Rafale deal even after the Supreme Court dismissed pleas seeking a probe into alleged irregularities.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also sought to know why the procurement of the fighter jets was delayed back when the Congress was in power despite the fact that the aircrafts were much required by the defence forces.
"This is the question that India asks the Congress party. For ten years, the Congress party sat on the deal... They did nothing," Patra said at a press conference here.
It might be because the Congress was probably used to "middle men", "corrupt means" and "graft money" and that's why they could not reach a conclusion, he alleged.
"This was a government-to-government deal during the era of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the BJP spokesperson said.
Patra, however, expressed confidence that after the apex court judgment, "not an iota of doubt" remains in the minds of the people of the country regarding the multi-crore deal.
Dismissing all petitions seeking a court-monitored peobe into alleged irregularities in the Rs 58,000 crore deal, the SC had said that there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France.
"Despite all the conclusions by the highest court of the country, we see that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party are trying to spread lies," the BJP leader said.
They try to "politicise" the whole issue and "manufacture lies everyday" since they have nothing else to offer (to the people), he said.
Patra was speaking as part of the BJP's plan to hold press meets in 70 cities across the country to attack the opposition party against the backdrop of the Supreme Court's verdict on the controversial Rafale deal.
Citing the 29-page judgment, Patra said the apex court had categorically rejected Gandhi's allegation that the BJP government had shown "favouritism" towards Anil Ambani's company in connection with choosing the Indian Offset Partner (IOP).
The court had clearly said it did not find any "substantial material on record" to show that this was a case of commercial favouritism as the option to choose the IOP does not rest with the Indian government, he said.
Notwithstanding the court's verdict, Rahul Gandhi had said there was massive corruption in the contract.
The Congress has repeatedly criticised the deal, alleging that the government was procuring each of the 36 aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government.
Asked why the BJP had taken a stand against the Supreme Court verdict in the entry of women of menstruating age into Sabarimala shrine issue, he said his party had not questioned the SC judgement.
"No one is questioning the apex court verdict. It is a democratic country and everyone can discuss. We are only questioning the selectivism and extra activism of the Kerala government in the Sabarimala issue," he said.
"Rituals have to be respected and selectivism by the state government is something which we condemn," he said.
The CPI(M)-led LDF government is not showing the same activism which it had showcased in Sabarimala in a similar case related to a Church in the state, he said, adding that the sensitivity of rituals should be understood.
The "selectivism" of the state government and cracking down on a particular community in the name of the court order would only weaken secularism, Patra added.
