Congress President Rahul Gandhi, in response to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s point-by-point speech on Rafale deal in the Lok Sabha on Friday, 4 January, said the questions on how Anil Ambani procured the deal went unanswered.
Sitharaman concluded her speech by saying the Bofors scam brought the Congress down, but the Rafale deal will bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi back to build a new India and remove corruption, which has gripped the Congress.
She alleged that the Congress is only shedding crocodile tears over Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) not getting the offset contract as the party did nothing to scale up the capacity of the state-run firm.
- Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman answered questions raised regarding the Rafale deal in Lok Sabha on 4 January
- On the same day, Rahul Gandhi said if his party comes to power in 2019, a criminal investigation will be launched into the Rafale deal
- Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended 21 MPs of AIADMK, TDP from the House for four days on 3 January
- The Winter Session of Parliament began on 11 December 2018 and will conclude on 8 January 2019
Triple Talaq: Cong Asks JD(U) to Exit NDA, BJP Downplays Its Ally's Stand
With the Janata Dal (United) firm in its opposition to a bill against triple talaq, the Congress on Friday said it was high time that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party walked out of the BJP-led NDA, otherwise it will be wiped out from Bihar.
The BJP sought to downplay the divergent stance taken by the JD(U), its ally in Bihar, on the bill, saying "no difference of opinion within the NDA on the issue of development".
Congress Legislature Party leader Sadanand Singh said the JD(U) had sharp ideological differences with the BJP on important issues like the construction of Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and on triple talaq.
LS Passes Bill to Amend Aadhaar Act
Lok Sabha on Friday passed a bill to amend the Aadhaar Act and two related laws which will allow individuals to offer voluntarily biometric ID as a means of identity verification for obtaining services such as opening bank account and procuring mobile phone connection.
The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill proposes changes in the Aadhaar Act, Indian Telegraph Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to comply with a Supreme Court judgement pronounced on 26 September 2018, in which it upheld the constitutional validity of unique identification project with certain restrictions and changes.
Defence Minister 'Ran Away' from My Questions on Rafale: Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave a long speech in Parliament but did not answer any of his posers on the Rafale deal and "ran away".
"The defence minister did not answer any of the questions I asked on the Rafale deal. She did not even take the name of Anil Ambani," Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament.
Gandhi said he put two questions to the minister towards the end of the debate and asked her to reply in yes or no.
"I asked that after a long negotiation process, those people who participated in that negotiations – Air Force chief, defence minister, secretaries, Air Force officials – when the prime minister did a 'bypass surgery'... did the Air Force people object, yes or know," Gandhi said.
"And you saw that instead of answering this, the defence minister started doing drama that 'I have been insulted, I was called a liar'," he said.
Cong Stopped Rafale Deal as It 'Didn't Get the Money': Sitharaman
Hitting back at the Congress on the Rafale fighter jet deal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday alleged that the party had stopped the deal when it was in power as it "didn't get the money" and ignored national security.
The BJP-led NDA government gave Rs one lakh crore worth of contracts to HAL, she said.
Taking on the Congress, the minister said, "You stopped the deal, forgetting Air Force was suffering. You didn't conclude the deal, because it didn't suit you. The deal didn't get you money."
"They did not intend to buy the aircraft till something else was done. There is something different between defence deal and deal in defence," she said, asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government gave priority to national security.
"You are misleading the country by saying the NDA government reduced 126 Rafale jets to 36. Congress was supposed to buy 18 in fly-away condition, the NDA raised that to 36," she said.
The delivery of first Rafale will happen in 2019, while the last aircraft of 36 jets will be delivered in 2022, the minister said.
She said the IAF always advises government to buy two squadrons, which is 36 aircraft instead of 18, in case of emergency purchases, the Minister said.