Sharpening his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused him of having prepared
the new contract for purchase of fighter jets from France, sidelining the official negotiating team in order to benefit Anil Ambani.
Gandhi said public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which produces fighter aircraft, was ignored by Modi in Rafale deal.
The Congress chief claimed that Defence Ministry documents published in an English daily showed “Modi prepared a new contract ignoring the negotiating team. Modi’s aim was to hand over Rs 30,000 crore to Ambani”.
The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group has persistently rejected Congress’s claim and said the central government had nothing to do with the company bagging the offset contract from Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the Rafale jets.
Referring to HAL’s unit in Odisha near here, Gandhi said engines of MiG and Sukhoi fighters were made at the plant in Sunabeda. The country’s youth, mainly in Odisha, played a role in its defence through the unit.
“But Modi, who speaks of nationalism and patriotism, doled out Air Force’s money to Anil Ambani, who has no experience in aircraft manufacturing. “This is the truth…. by snatching away Rafale from HAL, Modi has deprived thousands of youth of jobs,” he said.
