 "Article in Congress mouthpiece National Herald calls Rafale deal 'Modi's Bofors'; BJP leaders dub it 'self goal'")
The Congress on Tuesday paved the way for a fresh controversy, after an article published in its mouthpiece the National Herald compared the infamous Bofors scandal of the 1980s to the alleged scam in the purchase of Rafale fighter jets from France. The Bofors scam had tainted the image of the Rajiv Gandhi regime. The front-page article in the National Herald — titled “Rafale: Modi’s Bofors” — included a chronology of events around the deal. It also asked why the Narendra Modi government was refusing to disclose the cost at which the aircraft were procured. The report also alleged that the prime minister “dumped” Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and inducted Reliance Defence Limited as Dassault’s offset partner. “Is this a case of crony capitalism? How was a new, untested company with no experience or proven record allowed to participate in the deal?” the article asked. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Screengrab of National Herald’s e-paper. Image courtesy: nationalheraldindia.com[/caption] The National Herald report also cited the then foreign secretary S Jaishankar’s remark from the eve of Modi’s visit to France in March 2015. He had said that the talks between Dassault and HAL on the deal would have little bearing on his trip. The Bofors scam on the alleged payment of kickbacks in the procurement of Howitzer artillery guns had triggered a massive political controversy. It is believed to have led to the fall of the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1989. The Congress, which has been ramping up its attack on the government over the Rafale deal, has always maintained that the Bofors deal was not a scam. Although the headline of the online version of the article was later changed to “Rafale: The albatross around the Prime Minister’s neck?”, a clip of the article in print continued to be shared on social media through the day.
🤔 The @NH_India could only mean 2 things with that headline:
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) July 30, 2018
1. Bofors WAS a scam.
2. Rafale ISN’T a scam. pic.twitter.com/y710xzIXrq
So, does this mean that @NH_India admits that Bofors was a scam :) pic.twitter.com/S8rLpGJNLC
— Manu Pubby (@manupubby) July 30, 2018
In a hurry to malign Narendra Modi, the Congress mouthpiece National Herald accepted Rahul Gandhi's father's Bofors scam in print.
— Kiran Kumar S (@KiranKS) July 30, 2018
LLRC moment on #Rafale 😀😂
(After getting embarrassed, they changed the headline to albatross or something online.. but too late) pic.twitter.com/1r3aGEFi31
BJP leaders did not waste time in lashing out at the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi over the row, calling it a “self goal”.
Pappu @RahulGandhi self Goal. Rafale is scam or not but Pappu party accepted
— Tajinder Bagga (@TajinderBagga) July 30, 2018
accepted Bofors is a scam & Rajiv Gandhi is Criminal pic.twitter.com/DSmCdxzO2X
Incase you missed this latest self goal 👇🏼
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) July 31, 2018
We've been saying it all along; now accepted by @INCIndia that 'Bofors' was a scam. pic.twitter.com/70TQxVuDTl
With inputs from agencies
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