Rafale deal secrecy clause: Rahul Gandhi has lowered his own credibility, says Jaitley

Those who desire to be Prime Minister never blend ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics, says the Union Minister

Arun Jaitley. File

Union Minister Arun Jaitley has said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi has lowered his own credibility by “concocting a conversation” with French President Emmanuel Macron in his speech during the debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Mr. Gandhi, in his speech, alleged that Mr. Macron had told him that there was no binding secrecy clause in the Rafale deal. He accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying to Parliament on the deal. Mr Gandhi’s statement elicited a denial later by the French government.

“Rahul Gandhi, by concocting a conversation with President Macron, has lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large,” Mr. Jaitley said in a Facebook post titled “Frivolity and the no-confidence motion”.

“None should ever trivialise the debate. Those who desire to be Prime Minister never blend ignorance, falsehood and acrobatics,” Mr. Jaitley said in a reference perhaps to Mr. Gandhi’s surprise hug to Prime Minister Modi in Parliament.

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Serious business

“A vote of no-confidence against the government is a serious business. It is not an occasion for frivolity,” he said. The Minister said if a participant in the debate happened to be a president of a national political party nourishing prime ministerial aspirations, every word he spoke should be precious. His facts should convey credibility, he said.

“One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government or a Head of State. You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence,” Mr. Jaitley said. Stating that Mr. Gandhi had missed a great opportunity, Mr. Jaitley said, “If this was his best argument for 2019, God help his party.” “Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts. But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt national interest. Cost gives away a clue to the weaponry in the aircraft,” Mr. Jaitley said.

“Even in dynasties many successors remind you of the virtues of their predecessors. Yesterday, I reread two of Panditji’s [Jawaharlal Nehru] legendary speeches, ‘Tryst with Destiny’ and ‘Light has gone out of Lives’,” Mr. Jaitley said.