Rahul Gandhi Opens Up On Rafale, Dynasty Politics & Insulting MMS

On 5 May, The Indian Express published an interview with Congress President Rahul Gandhi who spoke to the paper while en route to Allahabad from Agra. In the interview, Gandhi spoke about the Rafale deal, dynasty politics in the Congress, ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ and much more. Here are the key highlights:The Rs 30,000 Crore Figure in the Rafale DealWhen asked why he keeps mentioning the figure Rs 30,000 crore when the Rafale deal is for Rs 60,000 crore as per records, Gandhi said that the benefit to Anil Ambani from the offset contracts will be Rs 30,000 crore and that “there is enough documentation available that shows this.”When further questioned on the exact source of the figure, the Congress President said that the party “had done calculations.”“If you want to understand the details of our calculations, I can put you in touch with Mr Randeep Surjewala and Mr (P) Chidambaram, who can share those with you. By the way, Anil Ambani’s own investor presentations put down these figures. Mr Anil Ambani was given a mysterious tax write-off of over 100 million Euros by the French, shortly after the Rafale deal was signed. Why? What is going on?… I’ve said to the PM let’s have an open debate. You speak for 15 minutes, I’ll speak for 15 minutes, let’s see who is left standing. The PM won’t be able to face the Indian public after a debate on Rafale.”Rahul Gandhi to The Indian Express.Rafale Deal: Centre terms review petitions abuse of legal processOn ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’...When asked the about the Congress’ rallying cry this election, ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’, that got him into legal trouble, Gandhi narrates how the phrase came into being.“I was giving a speech in Chhattisgarh and I said ‘Chowkidar has not forgiven farmer loans’, ‘Chowkidar has not given jobs’, ‘Chowkidar has not given you 15 lakh’. There were some youngsters standing there, and when I said, ‘Chowkidar’, they said ‘Chor hai!’ And I said, ‘Ah, one second, say that again’ and he said ‘Chowkidar chor hai!’ It’s not come from me. It’s come from the people of India.”Rahul Gandhi to Indian ExpressWhen asked why other senior Congress leaders are not using the phrase as often as he is, Gandhi said that Modi is a “vindictive man”, but he is not frightened by him.Stand by ‘Chowkidar’ Slogan, Apology Only to SC for Mistake: RahulDynasty Politics & ‘Soul-Searching’ Post 2014When asked if the Congress has done enough “soul-searching” after their massive loss to the BJP in the 2014 General Elections, Gandhi said that the party has “injected thousands of young leaders into the Congress at all levels and in every state.”“Leaders like Rajiv Satav, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya (Scindia), Sushmita Dev. I can name at least 50 young leaders in every state,” he added.When it was pointed out by the interviewers that most of these names are of people who belong political dynasties, the Congress President shot back.“Jothimani, which dynasty does she come from? She’s fighting an MP election in Tamil Nadu, and is about to win. Manicka Tagore, which dynasty does he come from? Please get your facts right. Which political family does Keshav Chand Yadav, our Youth Congress president, come from? Where are your biases and questions coming from?”Rahul Gandhi to The Indian Express.The Express team further questioned him on the perception that he is who he is because of his lineage.“Are you telling me my blood lineage is what helped me fight Mr Modi these past five years? Have you not seen the brutal campaign I’ve been a part of? Please, judge me on my capabilities. Judge me on my ideas and my actions. And one more thing, please do not disrespect the fact that I’m a three-term elected member of the Lok Sabha.”Rahul Gandhi to The Indian Express.Priyanka's entry refuels debate on dynastic politicsOn ‘Insulting’ Manmohan Singh When He Tore Up An Ordinance In 2013In 2013, the then General Secretary of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi had torn up an ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification that was passed by the Manmohan Singh government. This was seen as a major embarrassment to the then prime minister.Speaking of the incident, Gandhi said:“I think what impacted the UPA was that we were trying to run a model that wasn’t working. Mr Manmohan Singh came with the model in the 1990s, it was very successful, we ran that model, we tweaked it and we ran it from 2004-09, and frankly we then tried to run the same ideas from 2009-14 and they didn’t work and the people of India punished us for it. Now we’re coming with a completely new set of ideas, with a new vision for this country.”Rahul Gandhi to The Indian ExpressWhen asked if what he did hurt Singh’s image, Gandhi reiterated that no action of his is “going to hurt the image of a man with the stature of Dr Manmohan Singh.”Self-Promotion of PM’s Post Shows Lack of Gravitas: Manmohan Singh

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Rahul Gandhi Opens Up On Rafale, Dynasty Politics & Insulting MMS

In an interview to The Indian Express, Congress President Rahul Gandhi opened up about all this and more.

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