Rafale deal: Rahul demands probe against PM; BJP accuses Cong chief of lying

A report by a French publication on selection of Indian partner in the Rafale deal triggered a fresh round of fierce attack and counter-attack between the Congress and the BJP with Rahul Gandhi alleging Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "corrupt" and demanding a probe into his role in the jet procurement.

Strongly countering Gandhi's charges, the BJP accused the Congress chief of "lying through his teeth shamelessly" and indulging in "politics of misinformation" to build his political career.

Calling him a "clown prince", the BJP alleged that the Congress president belonged to a "family of middlemen" with his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi being "officially a middleman" in a defence deal.

The political offensive came a day after some reports, citing French publication Mediapart, said an internal document of Dassault Aviation showed that the manufacturer of Rafale had to choose Ambani's firm Reliance Defence as its offset partner in India as a trade-off for getting the deal.

On a visit to France, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Paris that offset obligations for the deal is mandatory but not the names of the companies.

In a statement, Dassault Aviation also said it has "freely chosen to make a partnership with Reliance Group, as it rejected the report by French publication Mediapart.

The latest report followed former French President Francois Hollande's comments last month that France was given "no choice" on selection of the Indian partner for Dassault and the Indian government proposed the name of the Indian company. Hollande was French president when the Rafale deal was sealed.

At a press conference, Gandhi also described Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's ongoing three-day visit to France as part of a "great cover-up".

"The reality is that the prime minister is corrupt. The prime minister of India is a corrupt person, but he came to power on the promise of fighting corruption," Gandhi told reporters.

"... in the Rafale contract. the prime minister has indulged in clear-cut corruption and there should be an investigation on it," he said.

Questioning Modi's silence on the issue, Gandhi said, "It is clear there is pressure. If he is unable to respond, he should resign."