Shah lauds Pawar's comments on Rafale deal, attacks Rahul

BJP president Amit Shah lauded opposition leader Sharad Pawar on Thursday for saying that people do not doubt Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intentions in the Rafale deal, and asked Rahul Gandhi to believe his own ally who has put "national interests above party politics".

"I thank Sharad Pawar, a former Defence Minister and veteran MP, for placing national interests above party politics and speaking the truth. Dear Rahul Gandhi, you would be wiser by believing your own ally and a leader of Pawar Saheb's stature," Shah tweeted.

He tagged the Congress president in his tweet which also attached a news story on Pawar's comments.

At a time when the Congress-led opposition is mounting an attack on the government over the Rafale fighter aircraft deal, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar has said people "do not have doubts" over Modi's intentions.

In an interview to a Marathi news channel, he also said the opposition's demand to share technical details relating to the fighter jet "made no sense".

Shah also attacked Gandhi for his dig at the Modi government that Sardal Patel's statue being built in Gujarat will be made in China.

"At a time when India is uniting to pay tributes to Sardar Patel by building a grand 'Statue of Unity' the Congress president is spreading canards to discredit the project. Shame!" he said.

The BJP chief said Gandhi's family "humiliated" Patel and unsuccessfully tried to erase his legacy from the people's hearts and minds.

"Your lies on the 'Statue of Unity' is another display of your visceral hatred towards Sardar Patel," Shah said.