Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday demanded the resignation of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad after the Supreme Court rejected the government plea on ‘stolen documents.’
“The order of the Supreme Court in the Rafale Review Petition case is a huge rebuff to the central government which raised the specious plea of ‘stolen documents’,” he wrote on Twitter. “We demand the resignation of the Defence and Law Ministers who authorised the plea of stolen documents.”
At an official briefing, the Congress said a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) investigation would be ordered into the deal if the party came to power.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the government tried to mislead the court by withholding three sets of documents that pertained to the former Defence Secretary asking the Prime Minister’s Office not to have parallel negotiations, the dissent notes of the Indian negotiation team and a note detailing the role of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
“A JPC probe is the only way to find the wrongdoers. After May 23, when the Congress will return to power, we will order it,” he said.
