Randeep Singh Surjewala addresses a press conference at Parliament House in New Delhi on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

New Delhi, January 2

The Congress on Wednesday demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s purported claim that he had a file on Rafale “lying in his bedroom” and asked if this was the reason why a joint parliamentary committee probe was not being ordered.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala came out with a conversation purportedly between Goa minister Vishwajit Rane and another person.

Rane purportedly can be heard saying that during a Goa Cabinet meeting last week, Parrikar stated he had an entire file and all documents relating to the Rafale deal lying in his bedroom, Surjewala claimed, playing the conversation for the media outside Parliament.

He quoted Rane as saying, “The Chief Minister made a very interesting statement, that I have all the information of Rafale in my bedroom…that’s means he is holding them to ransom. He said it is in my bedroom here only in my flat, each and every document on Rafale.”

However, there was no confirmation on whether it was the voice of Rane in the audio. The identity of the other person was also not ascertained.

The BJP has alleged that the Congress is only “peddling lies” on the Rafale issue.

“Now it is clear that the ‘chowkidaar is chor’ (the watchman is a thief),” Surjewala told reporters in an apparent reference to Modi.

“Now the Prime Minister should answer. The country is demanding answers as to what secrets in the Rafale ‘scam’ are lying inside Manohar Parrikar’s flat and bedroom,” he claimed, asking why is the ‘chowkidaar’ fearing Parrikar.

“Now, the Prime Minister has to answer. He only does captive interviews and is not used to answering questions from the media. What is the hitch in making public all the documents,” he asked.

Surjewala claimed the skeletons were tumbling out of the Rafale scam cupboard.

“New evidence busts ‘chowkidar’s’ worst kept secrets. What is Modi government hiding… Is this the reason why a JPC probe is not being ordered,” he asked.

Training his guns on Modi, Surjewala said, “This is a personal charge against you”.

“There was corruption and wrongdoing in the Rafale scam and it is all recorded in the files. Those files are with Mr Parrikar. Why are they being hidden? If Mr Modi has nothing to hide, then why is Mr Parrikar keeping those files in his bedroom and threatening everybody that nobody can do anything against him, for he has the Rafale files,” he alleged.

“Because, secrets are all recorded in the files and the day those files are out, as stated by and threatened by Parrikar himself, then what we have always said will be proved. That Rafale is the biggest scam of India and the person accountable for it is the Prime Minister himself,” he told reporters.

He said it has now become necessary that the files of Rafale with Parrikar need to come out in public domain.

Audio clip ‘doctored’, says Rane

Terming the audio clip, cited by the Congress to attack the Centre on the Rafale issue, as “doctored”, Goa minister Rane told BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday that he has asked the state government to order an inquiry into the matter.

In a letter to Shah, Rane said he never had any conversation with anyone on the Rafale issue.

According to BJP sources, Rane has said that “I have also sent a letter to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar asking for an immediate police inquiry and criminal investigation to expose the mischievous elements.”

In his letter to Shah, Rane also said,”…this is a doctored audio and have never had any discussion with this regard on this subject with anyone.”

Desperate bid to fabricate facts: Parrikar

Goa Chief Minister Parrikar on Wednesday termed the audio clip a desperate attempt to fabricate facts after the Supreme Court exposed the “lies” of the Opposition party.

Parrikar’s comments came hours after the Congress quoted him as saying that he had a file on Rafale deal “lying in his bedroom”.PTI

Cong releases purported audio clip; Jaitley hits back with Bond dialogue

New Delhi, January 2

The Congress Wednesday released a purported audio clip of a Goa minister on Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s alleged claim of a file on Rafale deal “lying in his bedroom”, igniting a fresh political firestorm as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley crossed swords with its chief Rahul Gandhi.

Jaitley also whipped out a dialogue from a James Bond film to accuse Gandhi of peddling “lies” and “falsehood” in the Lok Sabha after the Congress president made an attempt to play the unverified audio tape purportedly of the minister Vishwajit Rane telling an unidentified person regarding the alleged claim by Parrikar at a Cabinet meeting last week.

Launching a blistering attack on the government, Gandhi targeted Narendra Modi saying he “does not have guts” to face questions in Parliament. He also alleged that Parrikar is “blackmailing” the  prime minister.

The Congress earlier in the day demanded answers from Modi on Parrikar’s purported claim and asked if this was the reason why a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe was not being ordered.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala came out with a conversation purportedly between Rane and another person regarding the alleged claim by Parrikar.

 

Rane purportedly can be heard saying that during a Goa cabinet meeting last week Parrikar allegedly stated he had an entire file and all documents relating to the Rafale deal lying in his bedroom, Surjewala claimed, playing the conversation for the media outside Parliament.

He quoted Rane as saying, “The chief minister made a very interesting statement, that I have all the information of Rafale in my bedroom….that means he is holding them to ransom. He said it is in my bedroom here only in my flat, each and every document on Rafale.”

However, there was no confirmation on whether it was the voice of Rane in the audio.

Parrikar on his part termed the audio clip as a desperate attempt to fabricate facts after the Supreme Court exposed the “lies” of the opposition party.

No such discussion as cited in the audio clip ever came up during the Cabinet or any other meeting, said Parrikar, who was the defence minister when India and France signed a deal for the purchase of fighter aircraft from France.

Rane termed the audio clip as “doctored” and fake and told BJP president Amit Shah that he has asked the state government to order an inquiry into the matter.

Later speaking to reporters, Rahul Gandhi claimed the tape  is “authentic” and that there might be many such “tapes”.

“The Goa minister is saying clearly that Parrikar ji said in a cabinet meeting that he has a complete file on Rafale deal with all details and therefore, he can’t be disturbed. There may be other such audio tapes,” said the Congress president.

“What Parrikar is essentially doing is threatening the prime minister and blackmailing him in a way,” Gandhi alleged. “We have been raising this for a long time. Question is what information is there in Parrikar’s bedroom and what files are there and what could be the impact on Narendra Modi.”

As tempers ran high in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said the tape is “false and fabricated”, asking the Congress president if he can authenticate it. He also asserted that Gandhi may have to face privilege motion and even expulsion in case the tape turns out to be fabricated.

Following Gandhi’s hard-hitting attack on the government, Jaitley launched a counter-offensive as he referred to alleged defence scams during the Congress rule and said  “conspirators” of past defence scams had the “audacity” to target the Modi dispensation.

He also ruled out a JPC probe — a demand made by most opposition leaders, including Gandhi — saying there was no need for it as the Supreme Court has already satisfied its “conscience” on the issue.

Targeting Gandhi, the BJP leader said he would have played in the lap of ‘Q’, an apparent reference to Ottavio Quattrocchi- allegedly invoved in the Bofors case.

Attacking the Congress president, he said “There are some people who have a natural dislike for truth. Every word spoken for the last six months on this subject, including in this House (by them) are false….He has a legacy of speaking falsehood”.

The House witnessed high drama after Gandhi sought the Speaker’s permission to play the purported audio tape of Rane.

Amid an uproar, which caused brief adjournment of the House proceedings, Gandhi said he would not play it and authenticate it, prompting Jaitley to say that he was “scared” as he knew it was false.

“This man lies and lies repeatedly,” Jaitley said.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also disallowed Gandhi’s request to play the clip.

Gandhi claimed BJP members were “terrified” of the clip Rane has already termed the tape “fabricated”, Jaitley said.

In his speech, Gandhi referred to Modi’s comments in an interview telecast yesterday that no personal allegation was levelled against him in the matter and said this was not true as the “entire nation” is asking him a direct question on the contract for purchase of fighter aircraft.

“He (Modi) spoke for 90 minutes in a staged interview but still did not answer questions on the Rafale issue… He does not have the guts to come to Parliament and confront questions (on Rafale) and hides in his room.”

“We demand a JPC probe into matter. There is no reason for BJP leaders to feel afraid. The country will get to know that Modi put Rs 30,000 crore in the pockets of ‘double A’. The contract was snatched from HAL (a government-run unit),” Gandhi said, alleging corruption in the contract.

‘Double A’ was an apparent reference to Anil Ambani, whom Gandhi repeatedly referred to in his speech before Mahajan asked him not to name him as he is not a member of the House.

Hitting back, Jaitley said, “It is a tragedy that the grand old party which was headed by the legends in the past is now headed by a gentleman who doesn’t have basic understanding of combat aircraft.” He then raked up the Bofors, AgustaWestland and National Herald cases. “If there was one case”, he said, “I may have given that family [the Nehru-Gandhi family] the benefit of doubt”.

“Three is a bit two much,” Jaitley and brought up a quote from a James Bond film.

“I am sure Shri Rahul Gandhi, in his earlier days, was seeing the James Bond films,” Jaitley said. “James Bond has said: If it is once, it’s a happenstance, it can happen. If it is twice, it is a coincidence. And if it is thrice, it’s a conspiracy-Congress president is doing the same.” Saugata Roy of the Trinamool Congress was quick to take a dig at Jaitley for what he said was wrongly quoting Bond, saying the movie’s hero had said if it happens for the third time, then it is enemy action, and not conspiracy as the senior BJP leader claimed.

“Jaitley is losing his touch and his memory is failing him,” Roy said. – PTI

Let’s have one-on-one debate over Rafale, Rahul dares PM

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 2

Notwithstanding the government’s defence of the Rafale deal in the Lok Sabha today, Congress president Rahul Gandhi appeared in no mood to relent and dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a 20-minute debate on the issue.

Moments after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley accused Gandhi of “lying on Rafale”, Gandhi repeated his “watchman-is-a-thief” charge on the PM challenging the latter to a debate, asking why a Rs 526 crore aircraft’s was “inflated” to Rs 1,600 crore aircraft; why HAL was “shunted out” of the Indo-French Government to Government deal and why private industrialist Anil Ambani, with “zero” experience of aircraft manufacturing, was patronized?

Gandhi, flanked by Congress media chief Randeep Surjewala at AICC headquarters here, cited a taped conversation of a Goa minister today to say, “Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told his Cabinet he has Rafale papers in his bedroom. The Goa CM is blackmailing the PM with this information and is saying no one can touch him. What information does he have on Rafale? And who knows there could be more tapes,” Gandhi said, indicating he was privy to more “incriminating” tapes on the deal’s details.

The claim followed Jaitley’s accusation in the Lok Sabha today that the Congress is “manufacturing” tapes in their “desperation to paint a clean government black”. Asked why he didn’t play the tape in the Lok Sabha today, Gandhi said “because the Speaker Sabha didn’t give permission”.

With Jaitley attacking Gandhi and his family personally, the Congress chief repeated all his old charges steering clear of the Government’s defence that the Apex Court had dismissed all anti-Rafale petitions after “satisfying its conscience on pricing”.

“The SC has said it can’t get into pricing. We are asking why the PM is hiding behind the FM and why is the Defence Minister not answering the debate on Rafale. The PM does not have the courage to face the House. But the truth will reveal itself,” Gandhi said making light of Jaitley’s serial jibes on him in LS today including “Mr Gandhi’s lessons must begin from A, B,C; Mr Gandhi doesn’t even know kindergarten arithmetic and some people have a natural dislike for truth”.

Rahul’s reply to Jaitley was this: “He said the Rafale deal is worth Rs 59000 crore. Divide Rs 59000 crore with 36. What price do you get? Their defence is hollow.”

Tweets ‘open book exam’ 

Tomorrow, the PM faces an Open Book #RafaleDeal Exam in Parliament. Here are the exam questions in advance: Q1. Why 36 aircraft, instead of the 126 the IAF needed? Q2. Why 1,600 Cr instead of 560 Cr per aircraft. Q3. Why AA instead of HAL? Will he show up? Or send a proxy? — Rahul Gandhi, Congress Chief

Congress MPs fly paper jets in Lok Sabha

• UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday surprised all by egging on Congress MPs to fly paper jets across the Lok Sabha as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley led the government’s defence of the Rafale aircraft purchase
• With Jaitley tearing into the Gandhi family alleging its role in Bofors and AgustaWestland scams, a visibly agitated Gandhi tore papers from the LS question and business lists to pass them to party MPs who made paper jets from them