New Delhi: In the midsts of the Rafale debate which is setting the tone for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi launched a counter-attack at Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the Congress over their allegations during the BJP’s National Council meeting at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Saturday.
“For the first time in history, in the case of corruption in a defence deal, a middleman in the matter has been brought from abroad. Otherwise, earlier, foreign middlemen used to have private jets made available to them to spirit them away from the country”, PM Modi said speaking about Christian Michel.
ALSO READ: BJP wants Ram Mandir at the same spot: Amit Shah
“Friends, while the probe agencies are questioning this secret-keeper under the ambit of the law, everyday, in the media, sensational revelations are coming to light. The recent revelation makes clear that not only in the Chopper deal but also in the aircraft deal (Rafale deal) there was a game”, he added, speaking about the sensational revelations regarding Christian Michel allegedly having attempted to lobby for the Eurofighter aircraft versus the Rafale even years after the Rafale had been picked in the tendering process.
There is a Common Process, and there is a Congress Process.
The Congress Process encouraged favouritism, corruption, nepotism and compromised India’s welfare.
After coming to power, we transformed the processes and the results are for everyone to see. pic.twitter.com/n3py4jIM5G
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2019
He continued, “Media reports state that today Congress’s politicians are making so much noise, are sending lawyers to save the middleman, as during the previous government, the aircraft deal had stalled because the same middleman was creating an environment for another plane. They’re being exposed, hence they’ve descended to using foul language and are creating conspiracies with their ecosystems. Let them do what they will, the Chowkidaar won’t stop.”
“The Chowkidaar won’t stop. This is just the start. Whether the thief be here or abroad, they won’t be spared, not a single one.”
हमें काम से मतलब है, विपक्ष को नाम से मतलब है। फर्क साफ है। pic.twitter.com/oA0TEVAuru
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2019
ALSO READ: SP-BSP come together after 26 years for Lok Sabha polls; to
He spoke about the Rafale debate in Parliament and said, “When it was going on, our friend gave an answer in simple words, in words that people in villages also understand. The response went viral on youtube. They said, ‘if you buy a gurney sack, it’ll cost something. If you fill it with rice or wheat, it’ll cost more.'” The statement was in response to Rahul Gandhi raising questions over the UPA’s negotiated price for basic Rafale fighters versus the NDA’s agreed price for weaponised fighters.
“Even if someone is less educated, they can understand it. But if someone doesn’t want to understand, they won’t. It’s an old saying, ‘A sleeping person can be woken up, but a person who is pretending to be asleep can’t be woken up'”, PM Modi concluded.