The Supreme Court has dismissed the pleas seeking probe into the Rafale deal for 36 fighter jets worth Rs 58,000 crore. After the verdict came out, Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah took on Congress president Rahul Gandhi for leveling false allegations of corruption against the Narendra Modi government.
Shah said, ‘Rahul Gandhi should apologize to people of the country and its soldiers for misleading the nation for political gains.’
In a tweet, Shah said, ‘Truth always triumphs! Court’s judgment on the Rafale deal exposes the campaign of misinformation spearheaded by Congress President for political gains. The court didn’t find anything wrong with the process nor did it find any commercial favoritism in the deal.
Shah further tweeted-
On the contrary SC held that govt had no role in selecting offset partners & found no merit in the demand for a probe based on mere perception of individuals. It therefore raises obvious questions on the motive of those working to discredit the deal, which is important for India.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 14, 2018
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled out an investigation into the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets worth Rs 58,000 crore. Opposition parties had raised the issue of corruption in Rafale deal on a war footing in the recently held state elections of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, and Telangana.
The top court said there was no reason to doubt the decision-making process in the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said there has been a necessity of fighter aircraft and the country cannot remain without these jets.
A major win for Modi government
Shortly after the SC verdict, Amit Shah held a PC, said, ‘We are ready for a discussion on Rafale deal in Parliament and challenge Congress to come and debate the issue on the floor. All thieves gathered to call ‘chowkidar’ a thief, but the country never believed it.’
He asked the Congress chief to tell people why the previous UPA government could not seal a deal on buying Rafale aircraft between 2007-14 and questioned if it was because a “commission” on the transaction could not be finalized.
Shah noted that even the Supreme Court spoke about the need for India to buy modern aircraft. ‘You (Congress government) harmed India’s security interests.’ Shah slammed Congress.
Further, Shah said that scams of over Rs 12 lakh crore had taken place under the Congress-led UPA government. ‘People of this country have not doubted even for a moment Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s integrity.’ he said. Shah said that the matter was not about political benefits and losses but national security and the morale of armed forces.
