Give me 15 mins: Rahul Gandhi dares PM to Rafale debate in Lok Sabha

Speaking outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi claimed that though the defence minister had said a lot of things in Lok Sabha while replying to his questions, she had not answered any of them.

Challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a debate in parliament on the Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the government of working to weaken the state-run aerospace major HAL and destroying India’s strategic capability.

Terming the reduction in number of Rafale fighter jets from 126 to 36 as a “bypass surgery”, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched another attack on the BJP government .(Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Speaking outside Parliament, he claimed that though the defence minister had said a lot of things in Lok Sabha while replying to his questions, she had not answered any of them.

“Did the defence minister question the PM’s interference in the Rafale deal? When the bypass surgery was done and the number of planes reduced from 126 to 36, did the IAF officers object to it or not? The defence minister gave a long reply in Lok Sabha but did not answer yes or no to the question whether PM interfered or not,” Rahul said.

Watch: Rahul Gandhi dares PM Modi to a 15 minute debate on Rafale in Lok Sabha

Picking on defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement in Lok Sabha that the defence ministry was helping the beleaguered Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Rahul said she was lying when she made that statement.

“The defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied in Parliament claiming Modi government has given ₹1 lakh crore to HAL,” he said.

Terming the Congress’s doubts over her statement on HAL contracts as “incorrect and misleading”, defence minister Nirmala Sitharman in a brief statement in Lok Sabha, said, “over ₹26,000 crore worth of contracts have been awarded and work amounting to ₹73,000 crore are in the pipeline.”

Not accepting Sitharaman’s statement in Lok Sabha, Rahul said the government hasn’t paid HAL the ₹15,700 crore it owed the public sector body for the planes and helicopters it had delivered.

“Dassault, which has not delivered a single plane, has been already been paid ₹20,000 crore, whereas HAL, to which the government owes ₹15,700 crore for finished projects, is still waiting for its payment,” Rahul said.

At the same time, he targeted the prime minister on the issue of a deal that has been given to industrialist Anil Ambani’s company.

“Anil Ambani hasn’t made anything, yet he has been given the contract. HAL, which has made planes, helicopters etc, is not being given the contract,” Rahul claimed.

“The strategy of the government is - weaken HAL, do not give it money, destroy India’s strategic capability and give ‘gift’ to Anil Ambani,” Gandhi alleged.

He reiterated his demand for a one-on-one debate with Prime Minister Modi. “Give me 15 minutes with PM Modi for a debate on Rafale, the country will know the truth,” Rahul said.