Rafale deal: Rahul Gandhi says ‘it’s clear PMO carried out parallel negotiations’  

Rahul Gandhi.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on Friday, while citing a report in the Hindu newspaper, which said the defence ministry had opposed the “parallel negotiations” conducted by the Prime Minister’s Office in the controversial Rafale deal, has demanded a parliamentary inquiry in the deal.

At a news briefing in Delhi, Gandhi said, “With the media report today it is black and white that the PM himself was carrying out parallel negotiations with the French. We have been saying there should be a JPC (joint parliamentary commission), an inquiry.”

While accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bypassing the selection process, Gandhi said, “This is about your future. You are the defenders, protectors. You die for us. It is clear that the PM has bypassed the process and stolen over Rs 30,000 crore and given it to his friend Anil Ambani. It is an open and shut case.”

The Hindu, on the basis of official documents available to them, has revealed that the defence ministry had objected to the stance taken by the PMO because that was “contradictory to the stand taken by MoD and the negotiating team”.

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