After Supreme Court verdict on Rafale, Biplab Deb says ‘Rahul Gandhi conspiring with enemies’ 

Biplab Kumar Deb.

The Supreme Court’s verdict has given respite to the BJP in the Rafale case by dismissing the petitions seeking probe into alleged irregularities in the deal. The verdict has given the BJP an excuse to attack the Congress, which made it a big issue in the recently concluded state assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, and Telangana.

Biplab Kumar Deb, the chief minister of Tripura, who in the past had made controversial statements, wondered why the Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, was showing an unexpected interest in the Rafale deal and raised suspicion that Gandhi might conspiring with India’s “enemies”.

Speaking during a news conference in Agartala, Deb said, “Congress president Rahul Gandhi hatched a conspiracy to demean India’s proud position in the world ... The Congress had a stable government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for 10 years. Why did they fail to finalize the Rafale agreement? Who were they talking to? Why were they trying to demoralize our soldiers? Who instigated them to do this?”

In the same news conference, Tripura’s law minister Ratan Lal Nath said, “We think there might be a foreign conspiracy. It is a big conspiracy to delay the purchase of Rafale aircraft. It has raised questions on the security of Indians.” When asked to name the country hatching the alleged conspiracy, Nath said, “I don't know which country is involved. But there is involvement of foreign powers.”

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