Congress in Mizoram slams Modi government on Rafale deal

Guwahati (Assam), September 16, 2018:

In poll-bound Mizoram, the ruling Congress slammed the Narendra Modi government for alleged corruption in the Rafale deal.

At a press conference in Aizawl, Bobbeeta Sharma, general secretary and senior spokesperson of Assam Pradesh Congress, attacked the Modi government for allegedly deceiving the people of the country in the Rafale deal saying it is the “biggest defence scam in the history of Independent India”.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done the greatest disservice to the country by snatching away the offset contract from the public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and giving it away to a private company, the Reliance Defence Limited. HAL not only lost the RS 30,000 crore offset contract but also the Rs.1 lakh crore Lifecylcle Cost Contract of over 50 years,” Sharma said.

She alleged that Modi had bypassed the mandatory Defence Procurement Procedures by taking the arbitrary decision of reducing the number of Rafale aircraft from the earlier 126 to 36 and giving it to a private company instead of HAL.

“The Congress party questions the PM where do his priorities lie? In furthering the interests of a public sector undertaking that belongs to the nation or in furthering the interests of a private company that belongs to a certain individual?” Sharma asked.