Centre ‘misleading’ public on Rafale, says Ghulam Nabi Azad
New Delhi: Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre for allegedly misleading the public on the issue of Rafale fighter jets deal.
“This is the first government at the Centre who lied inside and outside the Parliament over the Rafale fighter jets issue. The government claimed that they had given a contract to HAL which in reality is not true,” he said while addressing media in New Delhi.
The statement from the Congress leader came just a day after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attacked Congress President Rahul Gandhi for allegedly “spreading lies” and wondered if he could issue an apology in the Parliament and resign.
“It is a shame that the president of Indian National Congress is spreading lies and misleading the country. The HAL has signed contracts worth Rs. 26,570 crore between 2014 and 2018 and contracts worth Rs. 73,000 crore are in the pipeline,” the Defense Minister said in a Tweet.
Intensifying his attack on the Centre, the Congress leader said that the government is trying to scuttle the Opposition alliances by misusing country’s premier institutions like the CBI, ED.
“Four-and-a-half-years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken about employment, farmers’ issues, and women security, but the government actually worked on how to use the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and I-T Department against the Opposition.”
He also pointed fingers at the government for allegedly putting pressure on the CBI to conduct raids in an illegal sand mining case.
“They are now working upon how to summon Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav as he has decided to form an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party in Lok Sabha polls,” Azad stated.
“Many political quarters formed an alliance against Rajiv Gandhi too, but the Congress never said cases will be filed against them. So why all this against the ‘mahagathbandhan?'”
“This kind of dictatorship will not work,” he added.