BJP stages protest, seeks Rahul's apology over Rafale charges

In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision dismissing petitions for a probe into the Rafale jet deal, BJP workers held a protest here on Saturday seeking an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

The protest, held at Roshanpura square of the city, was part of the BJP's plan to stage nationwide demonstrations on the issue.

Talking to reporters during the protest, BJP's state unit president, Rakesh Singh, alleged that the SC's verdict on Rafale has exposed the Congress' smear campaign against the Modi government.

"Supreme Court dismissed the review petitions in the Rafale case. With this, the NDA government's stand was vindicated. Rahul Gandhi's apology to the SC on Rafale issue is not enough. We want him to apologise to the country as the purchase of Rafale jets was done in a completely transparent manner," Singh said.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, Gandhi had raised the Rafale issue aggressively, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his "chowkidar chor hai" jibe over the purchase of Rafale deal.

The apex court on Thursday gave a clean chit to the Modi government on the purchase of 36 fully-loaded Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation, rejecting the petitions seeking review of its last year order.