india

Updated: Jan 02, 2019 23:29 IST

The Congress on Wednesday sought answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a purported claim by Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar that the file on the Rafale jet fighter deal is “lying in his bedroom” and wondered if that was the reason for the government not accepting its demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe of the purchase.

Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala released an audio of a recorded conversation purportedly between Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane and another person whose identity has not been revealed. “Rane can be heard saying that during a cabinet meeting in Goa last week, Parrikar stated he had an entire file and all documents related to the Rafale deal lying in his bedroom,” Surjewala told reporters in the Parliament complex as he played the conversation for the media.

Both Parrikar and Rane dismissed the claims. While Parrikar asserted that no such discussion ever took place during a cabinet meeting, Rane claimed that the audio conversation had been doctored.

Surjewala quoted Rane as saying, “The chief minister made a very interesting statement, that I have all the information of Rafale in my bedroom....that means he is holding them to ransom... Now it is clear that the chowkidaar is a chor (the watchman is a thief),” Surjewala said in an apparent reference to Modi. Now the Prime Minister should answer. The country is demanding answers as to what secrets in Rafale are inside Manohar Parrikar’s flat... Why is ‘chowkidaar’ fearing Parrikar?” he asked.

Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala released an audio of a recorded conversation purportedly between Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane and another person whose identity has not been revealed.

“Now the Prime Minister has to answer. He only does captive interviews and is not used to answering questions from the media. What is the hitch in making public all the documents,” Surjewala said...Is this the reason why a JPC probe is not being ordered?,” he asked.

He alleged corruption and wrongdoing in the Rafale deal and that it was all recorded in the files.

“Those files are with Mr Parrikar...If Mr Modi has nothing to hide, then why is Mr Parrikar keeping those files and threatening everybody that nobody can do anything against him,” the Congress leader said.

“Because, secrets are all recorded in files and the day those files are out, as stated and threatened by Parrikar himself, then what we have always said will be proved. That Rafale is the biggest scam of India and the person accountable for it is the Prime Minister himself,” he said.

Surjewala said it has now become necessary for the Rafale files with Parrikar to come out in the public domain. “The files with Parrikar should be made public and Modi should submit to a JPC probe. A JPC probe within 10 days will bring out all the truth about the Rafale deal...” he added.

Parrikar, who was the defence minister when the deal was signed in 2016, said: “The audio clip released by the Congress party is a desperate attempt to fabricate facts after their lies were exposed by the recent Supreme Court verdict on Rafale. No such discussion ever came up during cabinet or any other meeting.” It was a reference to a court ruling that there was no reason to doubt the process by which India was procuring 36 Rafale warplanes from France’s Dassault Aviation at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.

Rane told reporters in Panaji that the audio clip had been “doctored” and that he had informed BJP chief Amit Shah about it.

Accusing the Congress of falsely implicating him through the “fake” audio, Rane asked the CM to order a police inquiry and a criminal investigation into the matter to expose the “mischievous” elements.

In a letter to Shah, Rane, a former Congress leader who joined the BJP after the 2017 assembly elections, said he had never had any conversation with anyone on the Rafale issue.

“From the time I joined the BJP, the Congress has been targeting me...” he claimed.