How does the BJP see international conspiracy in questioning Rafale deal: Kapil Sibal

New Delhi, Sep 25: Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rafale scam and said that the deal was made to favour Ambani.

"On March 28, 2015, Reliance Defence Limited was incorporated. On March 25, 2015, Eric Trappier stated that contract with HAL was finalised. On March 11, 2015, HAL and Dassault stated parts of Rafale manufactured by HAL and Dassault will be guaranteed by respective companies," Sibal said.

The Congress leader further alleged that only former French president Francois Hollande and PM Narendra Modi were aware of the Rafale deal. "On April 8, 2015, Foreign Secretary of India stated Rafale deal wasn't on the table during PM's visit to France on April 10, 2015. But PM announced about the 36 Rafale aircrafts deal, while none of them were aware," he said.

On April 24, Reliance Aerostructure Limited was formed days after Rafale deal was announced. Therefore, both Modi and Reliance knew what the other was up to. Only HAL didn't know, said Kapil Sibal.

Attacking the BJP on their "international conspiracy" remark, Sibal said, "We wanted Rafale deal to go through, which would generate thousands of jobs. I want to ask Nirmala Sitharaman where did she come across the international conspiracy."

126 Rafales must be bought for the country's security, but the govt can't afford to buy the rest because they already overspent on the initial lot. BJP compromised on national security, he added.