BJP slams Rahul Gandhi for 'disinformation campaign' on Rafale deal

The BJP slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday for leading a "disinformation campaign" on Rafale fighter jet deal.

BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh alleged that Gandhi was "confusing" the people of country "on this highly sensitive issue" of national security.

"Gandhi has been coming up with contradictory statements regarding the financial aspects of the deal, and had been quoting different prices, which the previous Congress government failed to materialize," he said here.

Ridiculing Gandhi, the BJP leader said the Congress chief had been indulging in "primary school level discussion on an issue that was much complicated for his level of understanding".

Chugh sought to know as to why the Congress-led UPA government kept the deal "pending for an indefinite period".

"In fact, the then Defence Minister AK Antony should come forward to tell why the UPA government sat on the files for as long as 10 years," he said.

Claiming that the deal was executed on better terms as compared to the 2007 proposal during the UPA regime, Chugh said Gandhi was "trying to compare apples with oranges".

He said the Congress president was "comparing the price of a chasis of an aircraft with a fully loaded plane" required for the aerial defence of the country.

"The (Narendra) Modi government gave go-ahead to the deal after meetings of Price Negotiation Committee and Contract Committee which continued for over a year," he said.

"The Congress has no issues as it stares towards an all-time low tally during the 2019 parliamentary elections and Gandhi, fearing the inevitable, is trying to unsuccessfully scuttle the deal which is paramount for the defence of the country," he said.