Sonia, Rahul never interfered in any defence deal: Antony

Former defence minister and senior Congress leader A K Antony accused the ruling BJP and the government Monday of "manufacturing" lies in the AgustaWestland case and said Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi never interfered in any defence deal during the UPA regime.

"The government and the BJP are misusing agencies to manufacture lies. I am surprised to know that the present government is spreading lies...is trying to manufacture something out of nothing," he told reporters here.

"I would like to categorically say that Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi never showed any interest and never interfered in the AgustaWestland deal. Not only that, in the entire period of my defence ministership, Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi never interfered in defence deals and procurement," the veteran leader said.

Addressing a press conference in Parliament, Antony said, "Without any iota of truth, they (government and BJP) are trying to follow vendetta politics."
"I posed five questions, they did not answer those. We posed many questions and the entire Opposition is demanding a JPC on Rafale in a House in which they have got a majority. Their chairman will be there. So, they are panicking. May be they want to divert attention."
Whether the Congress will launch a counter-offensive against the BJP's propaganda, he said, "They are going to propagate lies. We are propagating the truth. So, lies will not stand in the face of truth."