Image: Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that his party will order a criminal investigation and punish those involved in Rafale scam if voted to power. Talking to reporters outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi accused Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of 'abusing' him during the Rafale debate in Lok Sabha a couple of days ago and said that the minister gave a long speech but said nothing on Rafale.
"Let me tell you that if we come to power in 2019, then there will be (an) investigation (into the Rafale deal). There will be a criminal investigation and the people responsible will be punished," Rahul Gandhi told reporters.
"We and the entire opposition want that when defence minister speaks on the PM's behalf, the questions raised by us should be answered," Gandhi added.
The Congress president also asked Sitharaman whether any objections were raised on the Rafale contract file by the negotiating team and the defence ministry.
Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running away from the debate and said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should answer questions raised by the Congress instead of abusing him.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi be investigated for corruption and for weakening national security by giving the Rafale contract to 'his friend'.
He cited a media report on Swedish Telecom major Ericsson filing a contempt plea in the Supreme Court against Reliance Communications chief Anil Ambani and demanding that he detained.
"In addition to corruption, the PM should be investigated for weakening national security by giving the Rafale contract to his friend and international debt master, Anil Ambani," Gandhi said in a tweet and tagged the media report.
