Govt lied in SC on Rafale deal, Modi must respond in House: Cong's Kharge

Kharge alleged that the govt cited a non-existent CAG report on the Rafale deal to the apex court, but no such report was placed before the Public Accounts Committee

Opposition Congress on Friday accused the BJP-led government of lying before the Supreme Court by citing a "non-existent" CAG report on Rafale deal and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi reply to the debate in Lok Sabha on the issue.

Speaking during the short-duration discussion on Rafale, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge accused Modi of giving offset contract to his "favourite man" and reiterated the demand for a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.   

"The Rafale deal is a Rs 1.30 lakh crore (Rs 1.30 trillion) scam. Modi takes 'AA' along in his flight... There should be a JPC probe since it is a very big scam. It has to be probed in the court of Parliament," Kharge said.

When Congress President Rahul Gandhi during his speech in the House on Wednesday took the name of industrialist Anil Ambani, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan told him that he cannot use his name as per Parliament rules. Gandhi then referred to Ambani as 'AA'.

"We want the prime minister to come and sit in the House and reply to the debate. Till PM sits in the House, the Rafale issue will not be solved... He is definitely not involving himself in the Rafale discussion," Kharge said.
 

He said the prime minister speaks in places where it is not required, but when the country wants to hear him, "Modi keeps silent". 

Kharge said the Supreme Court is not an investigative agency and in its verdict, the court has said that it has not gone into the technical suitability of the equipment being used in the Rafale fighter jet. But the government is showing it off as a clean chit from the court, he said.

"The court has not given a clean chit in its judgement. But you are roaming with this certificate, which is invalid. You spoke lies and falsehood in Supreme Court," he alleged.
 

Kharge alleged that the government cited a non-existent CAG report on Rafale deal to the apex court, but no such report was placed before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). 

"They want to take a clean chit based on the Supreme Court verdict. The Supreme Court has been misguided. They filed correction application in the court only after the Congress pointed out the discrepancy," he added.

He also claimed that the government is not making the CAG report on Rafale public since it contains adverse remarks.

"The BJP government is teaching English language to the court... A government speaking lies in the Supreme Court is unprecedented," Kharge said.
 

RJD's Jai Prakash Yadav, too, demanded a probe by Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Rafale deal and asked the government to answer the questions raised by Gandhi on the issue.