Cong slams Jaitley for suggesting link b/w Rahul’s statement and Hollande’s remarks
Cong slams Jaitley for suggesting link b/w Rahul’s statement and Hollande’s remarks
M.U.H
25/09/2018411
The Congress on Monday termed as ‘silly’ suggestions of collusion between party president Rahul Gandhi and former French President Francois Hollande made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Talking to reporters here, AICC spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi , referring to Mr Jaitley’s blog on Sunday suggesting a link between Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former French President Hollande, said,’’Contract was signed when Narendra Modi was Prime Minister, when NDA was in power. And they hint at Congress collusion. How silly can you get? It shows the cheap politics of the BJP.’’
On Mr Jaitley casting doubts on the statement by Mr Hollande saying that “truth cannot have two versions”, Mr Singhvi said,’’in his statements, Mr Hollande contended that the French Government had nothing to do with the choice of the offset partner in the Rafale deal. This only confirms that the allegations made by the Congress are correct.
Also, no real answer has come from the BJP to Hollande’s statement except for diversion and digressions.’’
He also objected to the reported statement by Arun Jaitley that Comptroller and Auditor general can look into aspects like the price of the Rafale jet but could not suggest cancellation of the deal.
‘’Mr Arun Jaitley’s statement ,makes the assumption as if the CAG is his private property by trying to tell the authority what it should or should not do. In a way the statement sets the tone for what the Government wants the CAG to do,’’Mr Singhvi said.
Mr Jaitley on Sunday sought to suggest that there is a connection between Congress president Rahul Gandhi's tweet in August and a statement made by former French President Francois Hollande.
"It is no coincidence that on 30.8.2018 Rahul Gandhi had tweeted that “Globalised corruption. This Rafale aircraft really does fly far and fast! It's also going to drop some big bunker buster bombs in the next couple of weeks....The former French President’s first statement rhymes with Rahul Gandhi’s prediction," Mr Jaitley said in reference to September 21 statement from Mr Hollande, who said his government did not moot the name of Reliance Defence as 'partner'.
In a Facebook post, Mr Jaitley wrote: "The Congress Party’s official handle on 31.8.2018 had carried the tweet of one of its leader “It is evident that Anil Ambani bribed President Hollande through his actor-partner to get the Dassault partnership".
The Finance Minister then referred to a subsequent statement made by Hollande to a French news agency and wrote:
" The former French President’s first statement that the Indian business group’s name was proposed by Government of India has now been substituted by him to the effect that the suggestion he is ‘not aware’ of the Government of India ever lobbied for Reliance Defence. He further said that the ‘partners’ chose themselves",'Mr Jaitley said.
In reference to contradictory statements from the former French President - Mr Jaitley argued eloquently that "truth cannot have two versions".