Rafale deal: Congress dares Subramanian Swamy to move court

New Delhi, Apr 11: Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh today dared BJP leader Subramanian Swamy to move court over the Rafale deal a day after the latter threatened to take legal recourse claiming that there were shortcomings in the fighter aircraft.

"I dare Subramanian Swamy to go to court on Rafale Jet purchase," Singh said in a tweet, a day after Swamy threatened to take legal recourse if the government went ahead with Rafale jet deal with France saying there were shortcomings in the fighter aircraft.

Swamy, a National Executive member of BJP, had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to go ahead with the Rafale deal, which was negotiated by the erstwhile UPA government.

The performance of the French jet "turned out to be worst of all the aircraft" in Libya and Egypt, he claimed and said, "If the Prime Minister for some other 'compulsion' decides to go ahead with the deal, I will have no option but to approach the court in PIL to get it set aside."

Expressing surprise over India buying 36 'Ready to Fly' Rafale jets from France off the shelf during the visit of the Prime Minister, Singh wondered, "Is this the new Defence Purchase Policy of GOI? Would CAG/CVC please take notice."

Through tweets, the Congress leader also took a dig at the working of the Modi dispensation. Taking a swipe at the Modi government's slogan of 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance', he said, "When (the) Prime Minister was buying fighter aircraft in France our Defence Minister was buying fish in Goa! Minimum Government and Maximum Governance."

"When (the) Prime Minister is signing deals abroad Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is propagating Modi's future achievements in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. Another example of Minimum Government and Maximum Governance", he said.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesman Sanjay Jha said in a tweet, "The Rafale purchase is another brazen u-turn by PM Modi. It will help only France get a big sales order. What happened to 'Make in India'?" Rafale was selected by India from among five bidders in 2012 since it was the lowest bidder.

PTI