Rafale deal: Rahul posts 'MCQ', asks 'why govt changed stance on revealing price'

NEW DELHI: Escalating his attack on the BJP for Rafale deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asked why the Defence Minister has changed her stance after she had in November said that the ministry will reveal purchase price of the aircraft. Rahul targetted the government a day after the Defence ministery said the demand that the Government discloses the details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 is unrealistic. "Q. Why did the Raksha Mantri change her stance from: I will reveal the price of the RAFALE planes in Nov 2017 to the price is a state secret in Feb 2018. A. Corruption; B. To protect Modiji; C. To protect Modiji's friend; D. All of above," Rahul tweeted in MCQ format.

Q. Why did the Raksha Mantri change her stance from : I will reveal the price of the RAFALE planes in Nov 2017 to the price is a state secret in Feb 2018

A. Corruption B. To protect Modiji C. To protect Modiji's friend D. All of above #TheGreatRafaleMystery — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 8, 2018

Earlier on Thursday, Rahul said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not answering his questions because there was something "fishy" in it. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he said, had first announced that she would inform the nation about the cost of purchasing Rafale aircraft but was now saying she could not do so as it was a state secret. "Which of her two statements are correct," he asked. Gandhi said he had also posed three questions to Modi. These included the aircraft's cost and "handing over" the deal to a businessman after "snatching" it from a public undertaking. However, there was no reply, Gandhi said. "There can be only one answer and it is that there is something fishy about this," he said. Rahul has been continuously attacking the Centre over Rafale deal and even alleged a scam in purchasing of the aircraft from France. The Congress has been alleging that the Centre agreed to buy 36 Rafale aircrafts at inflated prices after Prime Minister Modi visited France. The party has also raised questions about a deal between a firm owned by Anil Ambani and Dassault, which makes the Rafale. Rafale deal better than one 'notionally negotiated' by Congress: Government The government had on Wednesday rejected the Opposition's allegations of a "scam" in the Rafale deal. The Defence ministry had said the deal of 36 Rafale fighter jets with France secured by the BJP-led NDA government was much better than that negotiated by the previous UPA government during its tenure. "Unfounded allegations are being made regarding the 2016 Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to procure 36 Rafale aircraft in fly-away condition from France. This would normally not have merited a response but for the serious damage being caused by the misleading statements, sought to be repeatedly perpetrated on a serious matter of national security," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. The ministry said the demand that the government discloses the details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 is unrealistic. "The approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft has already been provided to the Parliament. Provision of exact item-wise cost and other information will reveal, inter alia, details regarding the various customizations and weapons systems specially designed to augment the effectiveness and lethality of the assets, impact our military preparedness and compromise our national security. Such details would also come under the ambit of the security agreement signed in 2008," it said.