Theft committed by watchman in Rafale deal has landed France in trouble: Rahul

Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday, alleging that the "theft" committed by "our watchman" in the Rafale deal had even put the French government in trouble.

Taking to Twitter, Gandhi claimed that the people of France were now demanding a probe into the Rafale fighter jets deal with India and that the matter was being discussed the world over.

"The theft committed by our watchman has now put the French government in trouble. Now, even the French public is demanding an investigation into the Rafale deal," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

There was no official comment from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on the issue.

The Centre and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have rejected the corruption charges in connection with the deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from a French firm.

Gandhi cited a news report that a French NGO, fighting "economic crimes", had filed a complaint not just seeking a clarification on the conditions under which the Rafale deal was signed with India, but also questioning the choice of Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as an offset partner by the Dassault Aviation, the makers of the aircraft.

The NGO, in a press release, has said it expects the National Public Prosecutor's office to "promptly investigate the seriousness of the facts and the presumptions on the reported offences: potential corruption, grant of undue advantages, trading in influence, complicity of these offences, concealment of corruption and laundering of these offences".

The Rafale deal has turned into a huge political controversy in India with allegations of corruption and crony capitalism being levelled by the opposition against the government.

The Congress has alleged that Dassault chose Reliance Defence as an offset partner, despite its inexperience in the field, to bag the Rs 59,000-crore deal.