The Congress party is planning to bring a privilege motion against the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allegedly misleading the Lok Sabha over the Rafale deal. It looks like the word shame is unknown to Congress party. The Congress Party President Rahul Gandhi’s lies on this issue were already exposed by Nirmala Sitharaman as well as by the France Government. Regarding the deal, France had issued a statement countering Rahul Gandhi’s brazen lies.
We have noted the statement of Mr Rahul Gandhi before the Indian Parliament. France and India concluded in 2008 a Security agreement, which legally binds the two States to protect the classified information provided by the partner:France statement 1/2
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2018
that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France. These provisions naturally apply to the IGA concluded on 23 September 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons: France statement 2/2 https://t.co/vhHhAi9fMi
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2018
Rahul had said that the NDA era Rafale deal for fighter aircrafts was struck at a much higher price than the deal during the UPA tenure. He also accused the Defence Minister of obfuscating the details of the deal from the public and hiding the cost/unit so as to mislead the nation. Sitharaman, in her reply to Rahul Gandhi, had stated that the cost/unit information of the deal comes under the confidentiality agreement signed between the two parties during the UPA era. As such, the ministry cannot reveal the per unit cost of the fighter jets.
France had confirmed the same and specifically cited Rahul Gandhi’s speech in parliament and backed the Defence Minister’s response to Rahul’s lies.
that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment of India or France. These provisions naturally apply to the IGA concluded on 23 September 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons: France statement 2/2 https://t.co/vhHhAi9fMi
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2018
It was good to see that France issued a clarification because, without that, Rahul Gandhi might have ruined India’s relations with France just like he ruined his entire party. In his pursuit to score some cheap political points, the Congress President can stoop to any low. And these are the morally corrupt people who are planning to bring a privilege motion against Nirmala Sitharaman.
Defence Minister Sitharaman had also strongly refuted all the baseless allegations made by Rahul Gandhi in the house regarding the Rafale fighter-jet deal. The Defence Minister had spoken about the non-disclosure agreement which had been signed in 2008, she said, “As per Article 10 of IGA between Govt. Of India & Govt. Of France, on purchase of Rafale aircraft, protection of classified information & materials exchanged under IGA shall be governed by provisions of security agreements signed on January 25, 2008”. This means that the deal between the Indian government and the French government was signed in the Congress led UPA-I rule and thus Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to harm the incumbent BJP government by futile and baseless agreements were laid to rest. She also reiterated that the French government had indeed requested for the details of the deal to not be disclosed as the deal was very sensitive in nature. Rahul Gandhi’s brazen lies in the house were no less than international embarrassment for India.
It seems that the way the Defence Minister stood up and exposed each and every baseless allegation of Rahul Gandhi regarding the deal has not gone down well with the Congress party. Or perhaps the Congress party considers itself so superior that it is unacceptable to them anyone looking into their eyes and confronting them, as pointed out by PM Modi.
The BJP has already moved a privilege motion against the Congress president Rahul Gandhi for making “unsubstantiated allegations” against the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister in his speech during no-confidence motion debate.
Now, the Congress party’s privilege motion against the Defence Minister is nothing but just a counter to the BJP’s privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi. The Congress party is desperate and frustrated after the no-confidence motion fiasco and that’s why they are coming with such move in order to target the BJP and to hinder the smooth functioning of the monsoon session.
After what Rahul Gandhi did on the floor of the parliament, bringing a privilege motion against the Defence Minister is nothing but just a joke and it will fall flat on their faces just like the no-confidence motion.
