Former French President François Hollande has sparked a controversy in the Rafale deal as in an interview he said that Dassault Aviation was given no choice but to partner with Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence for the offset clause in the Rafale fighter jet deal.
ALSO READ: Hollande sparks controversy over Rafale deal; opposition launches attack against government
Here are the top big developments in the story:
- Former French president Francois Hollande said that France did not choose to partner with Indian businessman Anil Ambani’s company in any way and added that only Dassault can comment on the Rafale fighter jet deal.
- Congress President Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Modi and said “former French president Francois Hollande is calling the Prime Minister of India a thief” and that the PM needs to break his silence. Calling the Rafale deal corrupt, Rahul Gandhi said it was “obvious that PM Modi is corrupt.”
- Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad responded to the statement angrily and said that Gandhi has made a “shameful, irresponsible statement”.
- “Arun Jaitley has written very nice blogs, but when the question regarding JPC was raised, he remained quiet. They should bring JPC, we will call Hollande also,” Rahul said.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh for the first time made a statement to ANI “It makes no sense to create a controversy over the Rafale issue. On the said utterance of former President of France, the Defence Ministry has already issued a statement and has stated that they are verifying it. It is my understanding that all accusations are completely baseless, were always so and will remain baseless”.
- Congress party, which has been mounting an attack on the government, demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Modi.