Rahul acting as ‘agent’ of rival firms: BJP

New Delhi, Jul 03 (PTI):
The BJP alleged on Saturday that Rahul Gandhi is acting as an agent of rival defence companies and being used as a “pawn”, and also claimed he and the Congress keep raking up allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal in an attempt to “weaken” India.
At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also played down the appointment of a judge in France to lead a judicial investigation into the alleged corruption and favouritism in the Rs 59,000 crore deal, saying the development was outcome of a complaint by an NGO and should not be seen as a matter of corruption.
This is akin to a competent authority in India writing down in a file that “please act accordingly” when a matter is brought before him, Patra said and accused the Congress of spreading lies and misconceptions over the issue.
The Congress has become synonymous with spreading lies and misconceptions, he said.
“The way Rahul Gandhi is behaving, it will not be an exaggeration to say that he is being used as a pawn by competing companies. He has been lying right from the beginning on the issue. Probably, he is acting as an agent or some member of Gandhi family has been for a competing company,” Patra alleged.
Patra alleged that as the Gandhi family had received no commission in the Rafale deal, its party had been levelling these allegations. The Congress has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal, saying it is the only way forward to find the truth about “corruption” in the purchase of the fighter jets. The Congress’ demand came after French investigative website Mediapart reported that a French judge has been appointed to lead a “highly sensitive” judicial investigation into alleged “corruption and favouritism” in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India. Patra cited a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report and a Supreme Court (SC) verdict, both of which had found nothing wrong in the defence deal between the Indian and French governments, to reject allegations of the Congress.
The government won a judicial verdict as well as an electoral verdict, he said in reference to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in which the BJP notched up a massive victory with the Congress making the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal as a key plank of its campaign against the Modi government.

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