No scam in Rafale deal; it will help Modi come back to power: Sitharaman in Lok Sabha

In a fiery "point-by-point" rebuttal to Congress's charges on the Rafale deal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday accused it of spreading "falsehood" on the issue and said while the Bofors scam brought the party down, Rafale will help Prime Minister Narendra Modi retain power.

Wrapping up a rancorous debate in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman, in her over two-hour speech, also accused the Congress of stalling the contract during its rule because it "didn't get the money", asserting that there was a difference between a defence deal and dealing in defence.

"Bofors was a scam, Rafale is not. Bofors brought you (Congress) down. Rafale will bring Modi back to (power) to have a new and transforming India and remove corruption which is stinking around the Congress," Sitharaman, the first full-time woman defence minister of India, said.

Forcefully rejecting charges of corruption in the Rs 58,000 crore deal for procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France, she also said, "Defence Ministry has been functioning without dalals (middlemen) during five years of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. Rafale is a decision in national interest."