Vadra accuses BJP of witch-hunting over Rafale

Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra on Wednesday hit back at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for targeting him and his associate Sanjay Bhandari, alleging their involvement in the controversial Rafale deal.

Vadra, in a Facebook post issued a statement, saying, "It used to amaze me in the beginning but now it has become a wholesale farce that the BJP rakes up my name every time they are cornered. Whether it's the falling rupee, soaring oil prices or this latest number, when they have been totally exposed selling out the nation on Rafale."

Vadra further alleged that the current BJP-government has "all agencies under their beck and call," and that they have been indulged in a "baseless political witch hunt" against him for the last four years.

"Instead they should man up with their 56" chests and tell the nation the truth about the RAFALE deal rather than hiding behind a bunch of lies that the people are fed up of hearing them repeat!!" Vadra said in the statement on Facebook.

With the mud-slinging over the Rafale deal escalating in recent days, the Congress has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over former French Prime Minister Francois Hollande's statement on September 22, saying that the Indian government nominated Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as a partner in the deal.

Meanwhile, the BJP mounted a counter-attack on the Congress over Vadra and Bhandari's alleged involvement in the deal that was signed by the UPA government.

Yesterday, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra cited confidential documents of the Ministry of Defence, recovered from Bhandari during raids in 2016, as proof of foul play in the UPA deal, accusing the Gandhi family of neglecting national security for promoting their family interests.