Rafale deal: Rahul demands action against Parrikar

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday demanded action on ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for allegedly being in possession of files related to the Rafale deal.

Taking to Twitter, he wrote, "30 days since the Goa Audio Tapes on RAFALE were released. No FIR or enquiry ordered. No action against the Minister either! It's obvious that the tapes are authentic & that Goa CM, Parrikar, is in possession of explosive RAFALE secrets, that give him power over the PM."

The Congress party, earlier this month, had released an audio clip claiming that Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar possessed all files related to the deal.

Congress party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane was speaking in it to another person about the deal.

In the audio, Rane, as claimed by Congress, divulged that Parrikar, who was the Defence Minister when the Rafale deal was signed in 2016 between India and France, had "all files related to the deal in his bedroom."

Later, Rane hit back at the Congress, asserting that the audio tape was doctored and Parrikar made no mention about Rafale deal and its documents.

"The audio tape is doctored. Congress has stooped to such a low level to doctor a tape to create miscommunication between the Cabinet and Chief Minister. Parrikar has never made any reference to Rafale or any documents. I have asked him for a criminal investigation into the matter," Rane told reporters.

The Supreme Court on December 14 last year had dismissed all petitions seeking court-monitored probe into the Rafale deal with France, saying that there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the deal. The top court said it was not its job to go into the issue of pricing.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, has already said that there is no need to conduct an investigation into the details of Rafale pricing.

The Rafale jet deal controversy has been on the boil over the last few months. The Congress and other opposition parties have been alleging irregularities in the high-profile deal.