Defense Minister Sitharaman destroys Congress’ lies on the Rafale deal

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had exposed the lies of Congress president Rahul Gandhi on the Rafale deal. Today, it was Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s turn to show the mirror to the Grand Old Party.

In the Parliament, the Congress president demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) based on nothing but his lies which have been thoroughly exposed. Even the Supreme Court (SC) has made it clear that the price does not need to be reviewed.

While speaking on the Rafale deal row, Mallikarjun Kharge former minister of the Congress party accused BJP for submitting the wrong affidavit. He further blamed Modi government of misguiding the Supreme Court and the people of the nation.

The first response came from former BCCI president and BJP MP Anurag Thakur; in his speech, Anurag Thakur attacked the Congress party leaders for their ill-prepared arguments. He further accused the Congress of peddling fake news.

Afterwards, the Defense Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, herself took the charge and in her speech, she, one by one, exposed the allegations of the Congress President Rahul Gandhi. In her marathon speech, she declared, “There is a difference between defense dealings and dealing in defense. We don’t do defense dealings. We deal in defense with national security as a priority.”

Nirmala Sitharaman also took on the Congress party leader in the LS, Mallikarjun Kharge, “Senior members of the Opposition don’t want to hear my answers. It is very disheartening. This country needs to know that defence purchases are national security-related and very important, whether they are in power or we are”.  Nirmala Sitharaman, during the debate on Rafale deal in Lok Sabha, further added, “We have had wars in northern and western frontiers. Timely purchase equipment should be the priority. We have to recognize the sense of urgency”.

Talking about the issues of national security, she said, “China and Pakistan are building a bigger fleet. The UPA government wanted only 18 flyaway fighter jets. UPA created a deadlock”. She also announced a clear date of the arrival of the first air craft under the Rafale Deal. “The first aircraft will be delivered in September 2019 and 36 aircraft will be delivered in the year 2022. The process of negotiation was finished in 14 months”. She also said that after looking at the current requirement NDA government ordered a total of 36 air-crafts.

Responding to the lies of the Congress party on the Rafale, Nirmala Sitharaman further added, “Congress did not intend buying the jets. For every ‘AA’ there is a ‘Q’ and ‘RV’.”

In response to Mallikarjun Kharge’s allegations, Sitharaman added, “I want to say to Kharge ji, who is member of Standing Committee that looked into various issues related to Defence production, in a report stated “Standing Committee is disappointed to know that even after 3 decades HAL hasn’t been able to develop the required aircraft.”

Defense Minister Sitharaman ended her speech pointing to the offset policy in the defense deal stating, “As per offset guidelines, defence acquisition council may prescribe varying offset obligations. Accordingly, offset obligation of 50% was prescribed for #Rafale. If you buy for Rs.100, you have to invest or procure Rs.50 from India”.

Despite being exposed multiple times, Congress party has kept questioning the Rafale deal without offering any credible shreds of evidence. The defence minister’s marathon speech in the parliament today once again exposed the hollowness of the arguments by the Congress president Rahul Gandhi on the Rafale deal.

To Know More: Jaitley launches an all-out attack Congress in Lok Sabha