New Delhi: After two years, slogans of "Chowkidar Chor Hai" were once again raised by the Congress when its youth wing led a protest against the alleged "Rafale scam".
The protest was being held at the party office of the Indian Youth Congress at Raisina Road, here in Delhi, under the leadership of IYC President Srinivas BV.
Speaking to the media, Srinivas said, "PM Modi used to say, 'Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga', but the presence of commission and middlemen has come to the fore in the Modi government. Our leader Rahul Gandhi's statement that 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' has finally proven to be true."
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He added, "It is mandatory in the defence procurement process to have an integrity clause. The presence of middlemen in it, bribery and the exchange of commissions are prohibited."
He also demanded a fair investigation into the allegations of bribery in the Rafale deal demanding that the Prime Minister clarifies it.
On Monday, a French journal reported that the investigation, conducted by French Anti-corruption Agency-AFA, revealed that after assigning the Rafael deal in 2016, Dassault paid 1.1 million euro to a middleman, Defsys Solutions. This amount was shown in Expenditure by Dassault as "Gifts to Clients". The middleman is now accused of a money laundering case in another defence deal in India.
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Earlier today, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala also raised certain questions over the matter, by tweeting, "The malady traverses borders of the two countries - India & France! The question is why are those at the helm of political affairs denying accountability & proof of corruption in Rafale deal? (sic)"
