The Rafale deal debate in parliament was heated one between the government and the opposition. And defending the government was Union Finance Minister Arun jaitley and not Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Though she is expected to speak later on the issue . It was pertinent that on a defence matter the Raksha Mantri should have first lead the government charge.
Further, in an embarrassment to the Modi government, its ally Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, also supported the Opposition’s demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) into the Rafale deal, claiming that people say the aircraft is good but the deal is bad.
Following Gandhi’s hard-hitting attack on the government, Jaitley led the government’s charge as he referred to alleged defence scams during the Congress rule and said “conspirators” of past defence scams had the “audacity” to target the Modi dispensation.
He also ruled out a JPC probe- a demand made by most opposition leaders, including Gandhi- saying there was no need for it as the Supreme Court has already satisfied its “conscience” on the issue.
Targeting Gandhi, the BJP leader said he would have played in the lap of ‘Q’, an apparent reference to Ottavio Quattrocchi- allegedly involved in the Bofors case.
Jaitley also mentioned the recent disclosure allegedly made by AgustaWestland accused Christian Michel and referred to terms like “Mrs G” and “the Italian lady” and “her son” to attack the Congress leadership.
Attacking the Congress president, he said “There are some people who have a natural dislike for truth. Every word spoken for the last six months on this subject, including in this House (by them) are false….He has a legacy of speaking falsehood”.
