Goa minister slams Rahul Gandhi's Rafale remarks on Parrikar

A BJP minister in the Goa government Wednesday accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of "politicising" the courtesy visit paid by him to ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Tuesday by raking up Rafale issue.

State Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho said one should not "capitalise" on such one-on-one meetings and make unwarranted statements.

Godinho's attack came a day after Gandhi met Parrikar at the Assembly Complex here and inquired about his health.

Hours after meeting Parrikar, Gandhi told party workers in Kerala that Parrikar has stated that he had nothing to do with the 'new (Rafale) deal' that was "orchestrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to benefit Anil Ambani".

Parrikar, 63, has not been keeping good health since last year due to a pancreatic ailment. He couldn't attend his office due to frequent hospitalisations.

"Gandhi has not done the right thing. When we extend civil courtesies to each other, it should remain at that. We may belong to different political parties but one should not bring politics into such issues," the minister said.

Godinho, a former Congress MLA, also said, "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 contrary, because when meetings between two persons take place, so many things can be said about each other," he said.

Gandhi has been relentlessly targetting PM Modi over the deal to purchase Rafale fighter jets from France.

The Congress had released an unverified audio tape last year in which Goa Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane purportedly told an unidentified person that Parrikar was holding the government to ransom because he was in possession of the Rafale deal files.

Both Parrikar and Rane had dismissed the tapes as fabricated.