Congress kept Rafale deal hanging for Vadra: BJP

New Delhi: Continuing its tirade against the Congress’s “first family” over delaying the Rafale deal, the BJP, which is trying to intensify its counter-attack on the issue, asked Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday to clarify whether or not the Rafale deal was kept hanging by the UPA because his brother-in-law Robert Vadra’s arms dealer friend firm was rejected by Dassault, the makers of jet aircrafts and also why the then UPA government chose Swiss made Pilatus trainer aircrafts over Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) trainer aircraft.

Asking Mr Gandhi to respond to allegations involving Mr Vadra, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that people will answer his charges against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

 “Vadra will certainly go to jail for allegedly helping a defence dealer in bagging contracts during the UPA’s rule,” Mr Patra said, adding that the Modi government will act as per law and not with a “mindset of revenge”.

Giving the address of a London flat, details of the defence dealer’s bank account through which money was allegedly paid to Mr Vadra and his first class flight tickets bought by the dealer’s travel firm, Mr Patra alleged that the flat belonged to Mr Vadra and claimed that all transactions had happened when the Congress-led UPA was in power.

Mr Vadra has been denying these allegations and has accused the Modi government of political vendetta. Reiterating the BJP’s charge that the UPA government had scrapped its deal with Dassault Aviation, which manufactured Rafale fighter aircraft, because the French firm declined to choose the dealer’s firm backed by Mr Vadra as its offset partner, the BJP alleged that the Gandhi family and the UPA government “looted” the country’s interests and harmed the Indian Air Force to protect Mr Vadra’s interests.

Turning the heat on the Congress over Rafale deal, the BJP raked up alleged corruption of Mr Vadra after Mr Gandhi has targeted the PM, including by taunting him as a “thief”, over the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal, claiming that his government helped Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence to get a lucrative contract.

“Rahul Gandhi is exposed today. People who looted the country and sold out its interests are questioning our prime minister,” Mr Patra said, adding that the Congress president suffers from a sense of entitlement and cannot tolerate somebody like Mr Modi as he comes from a poor background.

The BJP asserted that after PM Modi cracked down on the defence firm after coming to power.