SC verdict on Rafale deal updates: Amit Shah tears into Rahul Gandhi for 'discrediting deal' which is crucial to India; dares him to Parliament debate

May not remain an election issue: Omar Abdullah

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said he did not see the Rafale deal remaining an election issue in view of the verdict given by the Supreme court. “Can’t see how Rafale Deal remains an election issue after this,” Omar wrote on Twitter after the top court verdict. Omar also questioned whether it was right to take the Rafale issue to the apex court. “Have to ask whether the Supreme Court was the right place to fight this battle? Some fights are best fought in the political arena,” he added.

The BJP really has the devil’s luck (relax I’m not calling you devils, it’s only an idiom 😀) This #RafaelVerdict couldn’t have come at a better time after the electoral set back.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) December 14, 2018

Congress wants to discredit India, says Amit Shah

BJP chief Amit Shah has hailed the Supreme Court verdict, saying “Truth always triumphs!” “The court’s judgment on the Rafale deal exposes the campaign of misinformation spearheaded by Congress President for political gains. The court didn’t find anything wrong with the process nor did it find any commercial favouritism in the deal,” he tweeted, adding that it raises obvious questions on the motive of those working to discredit the deal, which is important for India.

Fraud is completely unacceptable: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari reacted to the Supreme Court verdict on Rafale deal, saying that there is a clear difference between business cycle downturns and financial fraud and his statement specifally talks about the former. “Fraud is completely unacceptable,” he added. 

There is a clear difference between business cycle downturns and financial fraud. My statement is about support during downturns to protect jobs. FRAUD is completely UNACCEPTABLE.

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) December 14, 2018

RECAP: SC gives clean chit to Rafale

In a major relief for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Supreme Court on Friday gave the government a clean chit on the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France and dismissed all the petitions seeking a direction to the CBI to register an FIR for alleged irregularities in the deal. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the multi-billion dollar deal. On the issue of offset partner, the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, said there was no substantial evidence of commercial favouritism to any private entity.

Our demand for JPC on Rafale still stands: Mallikarjun Kharge

After Finance Minister Arun Jaitley rejected the demand of a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal after the Supreme Court verdict, Lok Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Our demand was for JPC and it still stands, main issue is pricing which the Supreme Court said it did not want to comment as it is not in its jurisdiction.Home Minister is speaking on an incomplete judgement given on a PIL.”

If commenting on Rafale pricing isn’t their job, so is deciding on Ram Temple ordinance: Shiv Sena 

Shiv Sena is not even making an attempt to hide its bitterness towards the ruling BJP government. Right after Amit Shah’s press conference after the Supreme Court verdict in Rafale deal, party’s spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, “Supreme Court has said nothing wrong. Deciding on pricing is not the Supreme Court’s job but similarly deciding on building Ram Temple is also not their job. Rafale deal issue will be sorted out in Parliament and not in Supreme Court.”

Amit Shah doesn’t know that only JPC can reveal truth in Rafale deal: Anand Sharma

“All I have to tell Amit Shah is that he should refrain from making such immature statements,” says senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal. “Amit Shah doesn’t know that it is only the JPC that can reveal truth in the Rafale deal,” he added.

Puncturing Shah’s exuding confidence over BJP’s political preponderance, he says “Amit Shah said that he will rule India for 50 years, what would he know.”

If Rahul Gandhi was so worried about Rafale, why wasn’t he a petitioner in the case: Amit Shah

Slamming the Congress president, Amit Shah said if Rahul was so worried about scams and corruptions why did he not appear at the Supreme Court as a petitioner? “Congress can only make false allegations.” 

“On what basis did Rahul Gandhi level all these allegations? The people of the country want to know who was his source of information,” Shah said. The UPA government was never engaged in government to government deals and has been grappled with a history of corruption," Shah further alleged. “Now Rahul must reveal his source of information to all of us,” he added.

Amit Shah dismisses importance of electoral wins, says not respecting soldiers fighting for the country is shameful

The Supreme Court verdict on Rafale deal has come at a time when the BJP suffered severe electoral jolts in three states from the Hindi heartland. Responding to a question, Amit Shah, however, said that it is not about elections, “Congress should apologise for shaming the Indian defence and the soldiers who are working tirelessly in perilous situations.”

Amit Shah promises no adjournment if Congress agrees to debate over Rafale deal in Parliament

Speaking to the media, Shah said that the BJP will ensure that there won’t be adjournment in Parliament if Congress and Rahul Gandhi agree to debate over Rafale deal.

If you throw mud at the sun, it will only fall on your face, says Shah

Amit Shah refers to Narendra Modi as the sun and said, “Supreme Court has silenced all doubts over Rafale pricing. Truth has prevailed in the Supreme Court. This is what happens when you try to throw mud at the sun.”

Tactics for immediate belief of himself and his party: Amit Shah

The Congress president started a new movement to support the lies of the party for the immediate benefit of himself and his party, said Amit Shah. The BJP chief probably was referring to recent electoral gains of Congress in the recently-concluded assembly election. “…the decision of the Supreme Court has proved that there is no leg of lies and ultimately victory is true.”

LIVE : Shri @AmitShah is addressing a press conference at BJP HQ. #SCNailsRaGaLies https://t.co/j7NMC3mjHp

— BJP (@BJP4India) December 14, 2018

Effort to mislead the country on the basis of a false lie: Amit Shah

“It has been a great effort to mislead the people of the country on the basis of a false lie since the country’s independence and it is unfortunate that this effort was done by the President of the country’s oldest party, Congress,” says Amit Shah.

Crux of the Supreme Court judgment

There is no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France, the Supreme Court said on Friday and dismissed all the petitions seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Rs 58,000 crore deal.

There was no substantial evidence of commercial favouritism to any private entity, the bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said on the issue of an offset partner in its ruling on a batch of petitions. 

While one lot sought a court-monitored investigation into the deal, another asked for a direction to the CBI to register an FIR for alleged irregularities.

SC verdict is a slap on the face of Rahul Gandhi: Amit Shah

BJP chief Amit Shah slammed the Congress for playing dirty politics and said that the Supreme Court verdict is a slap on the face of the Congress and party president Rahul Gandhi. The Supreme Court’s order on the Rafale deal “exposes” the campaign of misinformation against the government headed by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, BJP chief Amit Shah said on Friday while asserting that the “truth always triumphs”.