Furore over Rahul's claim that Parrikar said he had nothing to do with the Rafale deal, which was finalised by Modi

BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of being “insensitive” and “lying in the name of a person fighting a disease” while Prasanna Karthik, an officer on special duty to Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, called Rahul a “compulsive liar”.

The outbursts appeared to have been triggered by a statement by Rahul, who had called on the ailing Parrikar on Tuesday, to Congress workers that Parrikar had said he had nothing to do with the Rafale deal that was sealed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Parrikar was then defence minister.

The furore created an impression that Rahul had claimed Parrikar himself had told him about the Rafale deal during the personal visit on Tuesday. But available footage of the two meetings Rahul addressed on Tuesday and Wednesday does not show him making such a claim. On Wednesday, he did refer to his meeting with Parrikar but it was apparent Rahul was referring to a past statement made by Parrikar when he spoke of the Rafale deal.

Besides, this is not the first time either Rahul or others are saying Parrikar had suggested he was not in the picture when the deal was struck. On April 13, 2015, three days after Modi sealed the Rafale deal in Paris, Parrikar, the then defence minister, had told Doordarshan: “Modiji took the decision. I back it up.”

On Wednesday, the storm was preceded by a leak of the letter Parrikar apparently wrote to clear the air. Hours later, Rahul responded with his own letter. The text of both letters is below: