Rafale Row: Sitharaman attacks Cong, asks if it’s above apex court

Attacking the Congress over the Rafale fighter jet deal, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday its campaign was based on “lies” and asked if the opposition party was trying to make the country believe it was above the Supreme Court. The Rahul Gandhi-led party is unwilling to even accept the apex court’s verdict in the mega defence contract, she said.

“A campaign on falsehoods, a campaign on lies till the time the Supreme Court came up with the verdict. Even after that, the Congress is not willing to accept the Supreme Court’s verdict. Are they making the country believe that they are above the Supreme Court? The Congress approach was from the start to campaign on the basis of lies to mislead the people, and this was proved on the issue of Rafale,” Sitharaman said.

“The Congress  still trying with all its might to remove the corruption free NDA government. We will face this through constant campaigning with all our might to expose the falsehood of the Congress by presenting our truth. We should all work together for this,” she said.

Congress all-out attack over Rafale deal. Ex-defence minister AK Antony leads the Congress attack, counters Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pic.twitter.com/eYPs0V6aIU

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The minister asked women party workers gathered for the convention to brainstorm on the BJP’s preparation for the upcoming general elections.

She was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day national convention of the BJP’s women’s wing here. The Congress has repeatedly criticised the deal, alleging the Modi government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised during the UPA rule. The charges have been denied by the government.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was also present at the inaugural session, said the Congress was feeling “over enthusiastic” due to its victory in the just held assembly polls in three Hindi-speaking states.

This is why Congress leaders were “misleading the country through lies”, he said.

“We should understand the importance of the 2019 elections. While the BJP wants to remove poverty, corruption, the Congress wants to remove the BJP. The BJP is committed to the upliftment of women. It has given many important portfolios to women,” Rupani said.