The Congress on Friday accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of misleading the country on the Rafale deal and violating “the sanctity of the Defence Ministry by holding a political press conference there.”
Reacting to the Defence Minister's press conference , the Congress party held a counter press conference, posing seven questions.
“Why is the Modi government and Defence Minister hiding the purchase price? Is it correct that the per aircraft pricing of Rafale as per UPA negotiation comes to ₹526.1 crore as against Modi government’s per aircraft negotiated asked ₹1,570.8 crore as per current exchange rate? Who is responsible for loss to exchequer?,” Randeep Surjewala, communication in charge of the Congress, asked.
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On Thursday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had alleged that Prime Minister Modi had “changed the entire deal to benefit one businessman.”
The Congress alleged that during his visit to France in April 2015, Prime Minister Modi cancelled the earlier Rafale deal signed by the UPA — that made public sector undertaking, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) a partner of the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation — to buy 36 aircraft in flyaway condition at a much higher rate.