Rahul Gandhi says Narendra Modi did 'bypass surgery' on Rafale deal, calls prime minister Pakistan's 'poster boy'

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, once again, for alleged corruption in the Rafale deal, a day after the government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court claiming that documents related to the fighter aircraft deal with France were “stolen” and that they came under the Official Secrets Act. Rahul said these documents clearly showed that Modi carried out “ parallel negotiations” to get the Rafale deal, and yet there is no investigation against him. The government is also mulling over filing a criminal case against The Hindu  for publishing the “leaked” documents. “Jo chowkidar hai usko bacha ke rakhna hai (it’s the government’s priority to save the watchman),” Rahul said, adding that Modi did a “bypass surgery” on the fighter jet deal, and thus everyone should get justice. “Kaagazon pe karwai keejiye, but inpe bhi toh keejiye jinka naam kaagaz mein aa raha hai (investigate the missing documents, but also investigate Narendra Modi for his actions mentioned in those missing documents),” Rahul remarked at a press conference in Delhi. [caption id=“attachment_6212711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rahul Gandhi speaks at the Congress press conference in Delhi on Thursday. Twitter @INCIndia[/caption] He also said it was interesting that on Wednesday, the government said it would examine the media because files on the Rafael deal had disappeared, Rahul said taking a dig at the government counsel’s argument in the Supreme Court. “Criminal investigation in India can be on everyone who opposes the prime minister, but when his name comes up, it can’t be done. Why?” Rahul asked, adding that the media has been warned of an investigation if it releases documents related to the Rafale deal, but no inquiry is initiated against those involved in the “scam”. “The government is manipulating institutions to save Narendra Modi,” the Congress chief alleged. Everyone is equal under the law, Rahul asserted. “On one hand, the government is saying that  documents are missing, which implies these are authentic documents. The documents clearly state that Narendra Modi conducted parallel negotiations… The file clearly states that the PMO conducted ‘parallel talks’ of the deal.” The Congress president then attacked Modi for “filling the pockets of his friends”, saying that the deal was hijacked by him to give “Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani”. “The prime minister delayed the delivery of the Rafale jets to put Rs 30,000 crore in his friend’s pocket. He also benefitted himself in the process,” Rahul claimed. Talking about the “stolen papers”, Rahul said: “Two crore jobs are missing, fair MSPs for farmers are missing, businesses are missing due to GST… And today, Rafale files are missing. The job of this government is only to disappear.” He further alleged that due to the prime minister’s “negotiations”, Rafale’s delivery schedule got delayed, and that even the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar had “blackmailed” the government, saying he had files related to the case. “Why were those files with him,” Rahul asked. He also said that the PMO mentioned in the defence documents doesn’t mean Prime Minister’s Office but the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi himself. Reiterating his earlier stand of talking to French officials over the deal, Rahul claimed that the “French prime minister had said Narendra Modi had told him straight up that the deal should be given to Anil Ambani”. He even said he had spoken to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to conduct a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation in the case, but nothing happened after their conversation. “Why doesn’t the prime minister say ‘I am the country’s chowkidar, I haven’t done a robbery, carry out an investigation,’” Rahul questioned. When asked questions on Modi’s stand on diplomacy with Pakistan and BJP calling Congress Pakistan’s ally, Rahul said Modi is the “poster boy” of Pakistan, not the Opposition. “Modi called Nawaz Sharif (the then Pakistan prime minister) on his swearing-in ceremony, hugged him, staged a big drama… went to his marriage, called ISI to investigate the Pathankot attack… He is the poster boy of Pakistan,” Rahul charged. In the end, while answering a reporter from The Hindu, Rahul said: “You are being punished because you are brave. I am very proud that you have the guts to stand up to Modi.”