Rahul renews Rafale attack, says PM 'opened door' for Ambani

Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday over a media report which claimed the government waived anti-corruption clauses in the Rafale deal, alleging he "opened the door" to allow Anil Ambani to "steal" Rs 30,000 crore from the Air Force.

Gandhi's scathing attack came after a report in The Hindu claimed the Rafale deal between India and Franceinvolved "major and unprecedented" concessions from the Indian government, with critical provisions for anti-corruption penalties and making payments through an escrow account dropped days before the signing of the inter-governmental agreement (IGA).

"NoMo anti corruption clause. The Chowkidar himself opened the door to allow Anil Ambani to steal 30,000 Cr. from the IAF," Gandhi tweeted tagging the report.

The government, as well as Ambani, have strongly refuted allegations of any wrongdoing in the fighter jet agreement with France.

Last week, the Congress president had demanded answers to questions raised by another report in the newspaper that the PMO conducted parallel negotiations on the Rafale deal.

Repeating the "chowkidar" epithet, he ramped up his attack on the prime minister and said it was clear "crystal clear" that the "watchman" is the "thief".