Arun Jaitley (TOI file photo)

NEW DELHI: Congress 's attempts to raise allegations of corruption with regard to the Rafale deal was a desperate attempt to create a false equivalence between the Modi government and the corruption-ridden UPA record and borrowed a leaf from the Bofors scandal , senior minister Arun Jaitley said.

Jaitley said Congress had a history of creating fake issues, as when it concocted the "St Kitts" scandal to counter revelations of graft surrounding the Bofors deal and its kickbacks. "A bank account was created in the name of the son of VP Singh (Congress rebel who became PM in 1989) so that the party would have a face saving argument - if we are corrupt, so are you," he said.

The minister said a similar attempt was made in 1999 when NDA under Atal Bihari Vajpayee was set to sweep the general elections and Congress "manufactured" the issue of sugar export to Pakistan. The truth was that a mid-level Chandni Chowk trader was exporting sugar under open general licence to Pakistan.

The Congress's moves were driven by the party's fear that the approaching national elections would become a referendum on PM Narendra Modi 's performance, the minister said. Congress was either non-existent or a poor third or fourth in states like UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Tripura, Odisha and the north-east, he added.

In the remaining 50% Lok Sabha seats, Congress may have to concede its share to allies and might end up effectively contesting just about 225 seats, Jaitley said, pointing out these would essentially be a Congress versus BJP clash. "For Congress, the best case scenario is to become a tailender of the federal front and concede a large political space," he said.

Jaitley suggested that "mid level" leaders in the age group 65-74 were unwilling to see the forthcoming elections as a lost cause as they could not wait till 2024. "They know that 2019 is their last chance and they will probably be time barred by 2024. They are willing for a tailender's role," he said.

Allegations against the Rafale deal would fail as it was a government-to-government deal and UPA ministers themselves never disclosed the cost break up of weaponry. Congress's competition with the federal front was seeing it use terms like "Hindu Taliban" as the majority community was as much a voter as the minorities.

