Ahead of Rafale debate in LS, Rahul poses 5 questions to Sitharaman

New Delhi: With the BJP and Congress engaged in war-of-words over the Rafale fighter jets deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday laid out five questions to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Firing a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his absence from the Parliament during the debate on Rafale, Gandhi alleged that PM Modi facilitated the payment of Rs 30,000 crore to Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani.
Further sharpening his attack, the Gandhi scion said, “When the Rafale issue came up, the Prime Minister, who is being accused in the matter, chose not to show up at the House. He chose to run away and refuses to step foot in Lok Sabha.” Laying out the five questions, Gandhi asked who changed the pricing of Rafale aircraft from Rs 526 crore to Rs 1,600 crore- the Air Force, the Prime Minister or the Defence Ministry? He further said: “The Air Force wanted 126 aircraft, but a deal was finalised with 36 aircraft. Did the Air Force demand it? Also, if it was done, then whether national security constraints were considered or not?” “Anil Ambani made Rs 36,000 crore from this deal. We want to know who decided to shut out HAL from the deal and bring in Ambani. French President Hollande has clearly stated that Prime Minister Modi said to him that the deal would be only possible if the contract was given to Reliance,” Gandhi added.