Rahul Gandhi a compulsive liar: OSD to Goa CM

Rahul Gandhi is a "compulsive liar," Prasanna Karthik, Special OSD to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, tweeted on Wednesday dismissing the Congress president's claims on the Rafale deal after visiting the ailing Parrikar.

Rahul Gandhi, who met Parrikar on Tuesday, said during a meeting of booth level party workers that former defence minister Parrikar "clearly denied" any involvement in the Rafale fighter jet deal "orchestrated" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "benefit" Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani.

Karthik said that Rahul is lying about Parrikar.

"This guy is a compulsive liar. He came saying he wants to convey his and his mother's wishes for a speedy recovery. CM met him out of decency. Now he shamelessly lies about him - a person who is fighting cancer without compromising on his commitments to his people. Disgusting," Karthik tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Goa Minister for Animal Husbandry Mauvin Godinho said that Rahul Gandhi should not try to take political advantage out of personal meetings.

"One should realise that when you come to enquire about a person's health, it should be limited to that. He should not try to capitalise that and say something to the contrary. When meetings take place one-on-one between two people, so many things can be said about each other," Godinho told ANI.

At a meeting with party workers in Kochi, Kerala, late on Tuesday, Rahul said, "Friends, the ex-defence minister clearly stated that he has nothing to do with the new deal that was orchestrated by Mr Narendra Modi to benefit Anil Ambani."

He went on to say that as a result of this "crime," thousands of young Indians all across the country have been kept from getting high paying jobs with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Rahul further attacked the Prime Minister over former French president Francois Hollande's statement last year, wherein he said that the Indian government gave Dassault Aviation no choice but to choose Reliance Aviation as the offset partner.

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. The top court said it was not its job to go into the issue of pricing.

The Congress party had, earlier this month, released an audio clip claiming that 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 the Rafale deal or its documents.