Dassault CEO Eric Trappier's claim expose Congress' lies on Rafale: BJP

The interview exposed all the lies of the Congress and its president, said Ravi Shankar Prasad

The BJP alleged Tuesday that Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier's claims on the Rafale deal had exposed the lies of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi whose behaviour had become increasingly irresponsible and oblivious to India's security needs.

Union minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Trappier's interview had particularly exposed the lie about the company's offset obligation.

The CEO, he added, made it clear that such an obligation with Anil Ambani's Reliance and 30 other firms would be undertaken solely by Dassault and that Government of India had no role whatsoever.

Gandhi had frequently alleged corruption in the Rafale deal and claimed that it was tweaked to favour Ambani, a charge denied by the government and also Reliance.

"The interview exposed all the lies of the Congress and its president," Prasad said, adding the Rafale fighter aircraft was inducted to "subserve" the security needs of the Indian Air Force.

Attacking Gandhi, he alleged, "Increasingly, as the Congress president, his behaviour is quite irresponsible and completely oblivious to the security needs of India. It is no surprise that the language of Rahul Gandhi and his friends in Pakistan are the same."

In Jabalpur, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters that the "lies of Rahul Gandhi had been caught again".

"The politics of lies, deceit and conspiracy promoted by Rahul Gandhi has yet again been exposed... He has become shameless to an extent which is unimaginable," Patra alleged.

In a media interview, Trappier had defended the contract and claimed no wrongdoing in the Rs 58,000 crore deal, asserting it was a "clean deal". He claimed his company chose Reliance as an offset partner.

The Congress dismissed his claims as "manufactured lies".