Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been relentlessly attacking PM Modi over Rafale deal. (File Photo/PTI)
Taking a swipe at the Modi government and Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani over Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that to bag a defence contract one has to be a "defaulter of Rs 45,000 crore".
"Modi's Operandi for handing out India's biggest defence contracts -- 1. Be a defaulter of (Rs) 45,000 crore. 2. Owe money to other companies who beg Supreme Court not to let you leave India. 3. Be called 'Bhai' by PM but have no relevant experience," Gandhi said in a tweet.
He also cited a media report claiming that Swedish telecom equipment company Ericsson has petitioned the Supreme Court to prevent Ambani and two senior executives from his group from leaving the country after accusing them of willfully defaulting in previously promised payment of Rs 550 crore by alleged abuse of process of law.
The opposition led by the Congress has been accusing the government of benefitting Ambani's Reliance Defence Ltd. from the Rafale deal.
The Rafale controversy took a new turn last month after Francois Hollande, who was French president when the Rs 58,000 crore deal was announced, was quoted as saying by French publication Mediapart that France was given "no choice" on selection of the Indian partner for Dassault, the manufacturer of Rafale jets.
The Indian government proposed the name of Reliance as offset partner for the French aerospace giant, he said.
The BJP and Reliance Defence have dismissed all the allegations made by the opposition on the Rafale issue as false.
PM Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighters after holding talks with Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.
(With inputs from PTI)
