Congress on a mission to spread Rafale deal scam

Hanamkonda (Warangal-U): The All India Congress Committee (AICC) Secretary K Jayakumar charged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi with deceiving the country and “compromising” on national security. He was referring to the Rafale fighter jets deal with France.  

Jayakumar, who is on a mission to educate people about the alleged misdeeds of the Modi government, was here on Wednesday. Speaking to the media persons, he accused the Centre of promoting “crony capitalism” in awarding Rafale deal to the Reliance Defence, a unit of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group.

Jayakumar said that the Modi government had purchased 36 Rafale jets at Rs 60,145 crore in 2016. This amounted to Rs 1,670.70 crore per aircraft. The same jets were proposed to bought at a cost of Rs 18,940 crore during the Congress-led UPA government. “Modi government caused a loss of Rs 12,632 crore to the nation’s exchequer by buying the jets at an inflated rate,” Jayakumar alleged.

He also expressed doubts over France picking Reliance Defence as its local partner although the company was formed just 12 days before the announcement of the purchase of the 36 Dassault Aviation-made Rafale fighter jets in France on April 10, 2015.

Referring to demonetisation, Jayakumar said it was the biggest failure of the BJP government. “Data released by the Reserve Bank of India may have shown that almost the entire amount of withdrawn currency – Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 - had returned to banks, but the Modi government succeeded in helping its cronies,” he alleged.

District Congress Committee president Naini Rajender Reddy, senior leaders Katla Srinivas Rao, Syed Azmathulla Hussaini, Bandi Narsa Goud, Bakka Judson, Namindla Srinivas, E V Srinivasa Rao, Bathini Srinivasa Rao, DCCB former chairman Janga Raghava Reddy, former MLAs P Veeraiah and B Arogyam were among others present.