Aim of demonetisation clear, it was to help PM Modi's friends: Rahul Gandhi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi took yet another swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. 

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Gandhi said demonetisation was a "scam". And that the aim was to take people's money, and put it in the hands of Prime Minister Modi's "crony capitalists". 

The arrangement, said Gandhi, was simple. 

The crony capitalists, he said, "market" Modi. And in return, Modi gave them money (via demonetisation). 

"Notebandi was not a mistake," Gandhi said. "It was an attack on farmers and small businesses."

Also read: Arun Jaitley says 'larger purpose of demonetisation' achieved

Gandhi added that demonetisation wreaked havoc on India's farmers and small businesses. And that Prime Minister Modi would have to explain it to India's youth, farmers, and small and medium businesspeople. 

Gandhi added that the "evidence was coming out, you will soon have it". He did not however offer any to back up his statements on Thursday. 

Gandhi also mentioned the Rafale deal. Saying that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was right to ask questions. 

And that he (Gandhi) had in turn said all questions would be answered by a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe. But that Jaitley continued to write "long, long blogs" but would say nothing to the suggestion of a JPC. 

Gandhi also read from the joint statement made by Prime Minister Modi and French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron after they reached the new Rafale deal. (The original deal had been broked by the previous UPA government.) 

The Congress says Modi's NDA government is paying more for the Rafale fighter jets than originally agreed by the UPA government. 

Gandhi quoted from from the joint statement, which said: "The Rafale jets would have the same configuration as decided by the Indian Air Force... "

The NDA government has, since the opposition has accused it of a scam, said the price points of the deal had changed because of the changes in the configuration of the planes. 

But, said Gandhi, if the planes are to still be configured as "decided (earlier) by the Indian Air Force", but the price points have still been changed, then the government is lying.