New Delhi: A fresh war of words erupted between the Congress and the BJP on Sunday after France announced judicial probe into the Rafale fighter jet deal with India. According to Mediapart, a French investigative website, France has appointed a special judge to lead a "highly sensitive" judicial probe into suspected "corruption" and "favouritism" in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal. The investigation into the Jets deal between India and France signed in 2016 was formally launched on June 14.
The Congress alleged corruption in the purchase of the fighter jets and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter saying that a proper investigation into the deal is the only way forward to find the truth. It also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should order an investigation into the matter and come out clean on the deal.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at the prime minister using an idiomatic expression in Hindi while party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra quoted Lord Buddha to say, "Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said "Corruption in the Rafale deal has come out clearly now. The stand of the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi has been vindicated today after the French government has ordered a probe."
Hitting back at the opposition, the BJP alleged that Rahul Gandhi is acting as an agent of rival defence companies and is being used as a "pawn". The saffron party claimed Gandhi and the Congress' continuous allegations of corruption in the fighter jets deal is an attempt to "weaken" India.
