Apologize to nation for misleading on Rafael deal: Amit Shah dares Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, Dec 14: Congress president Rahul Gandhi should apologize to the nation for misleading on Rafael fighter jet deal and also divulge his source of information, demanded Amit Shah, BJP's national president commenting on Supreme Court verdict on Rafael deal.

Addressing a press conference at BJP head quarter on Friday Shah said that Rahul Gandhi has deliberately spread the misinformation on Rafael fighter jet deal and demoralizing the security personnel of the country. His attempts tantamount to lowering the morale of the security forces and endangering the national security, Shah said.

The BJP president repeatedly said that the Congress president took to misinformation on Rafael deal and made it an election issue calling names to the Prime Minister. But the Supreme Court verdict today cleared the confusion he created. Will Rahul Gandhi apologize to the nation and armed forces? Will he divulge the source of his information on Rafael deal to the people? Shah wanted to know.

Amit Shah further said that the SC held that government had no role in selecting offset partners and found no merit in the demand for a probe based on mere perception of individuals. It therefore raises obvious questions on the motive of those working to discredit the deal, which is important for India, Shah added.

The Supreme Court Friday dismissed the petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the Rafale deal. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said that the court was satisfied with the procurement process and that it did not find any reason to interfere in the pricing details or the offset partner chosen as part of the deal. The petitions had alleged irregularities in the NDA government’s purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault Aviation.

Amit Shah said truth always triumphs. “Court’s judgment on the Rafale deal exposes the campaign of misinformation spearheaded by Congress President for political gains. The court didn’t find anything wrong with the process nor did it find any commercial favouritism in the deal,” he said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too attacked the Congress President for misguiding the people on Rafael deal and making it an election campaign issue. Jaitley claimed that all figures presented by the government are correct and described figures shown by Congress president Rahul Gandhi as "false". "The truth has only one version and falsehood has many. That is why Mr Rahul Gandhi quoted several figures," he said.