Rahul slams government's secrecy over Rafale deal

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the Narendra Modi government for maintaining "secrecy" on Rafale fighter jet deal with France after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharam told Parliament that its details were "classified information" and could not be disclosed.

"Top Secret (Not for Distribution) RM (Raksha Minister) says the price negotiated for each Rafale jet by the PM and his 'reliable' buddy is a state secret," Gandhi said in a tweet.

"Action Points -- Informing Parliament about the price is a national security threat and Brand all who ask, anti-national," he said in another tweet.

Gandhi's remarks came a day after Sitharaman, in a written reply to Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agarwal seeking to know why the government was not disclosing details of the deal, cited Article 10 of the inter-governmental agreement between the Indian and French governments which holds that the classified information and material exchanged under the agreement is governed by provisions of the Security Agreement signed between the two countries in 2008.

--IANS

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