It was a busy day in Parliament as the controversial Rafale deal was finally discussed. ThePrint caught the two leaders — Rahul Gandhi and Arun Jaitley — as they went in for the debate.
New Delhi: The Rafale deal, which came up for debate in the Lok Sabha Wednesday, saw Congress president Rahul Gandhi tearing into the Narendra Modi government and demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe in the matter.
Gandhi’s attack was followed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s counter. Rejecting the JPC demand, Jaitley said the Congress only understood “the mathematics of money” and wasn’t bothered about “national security”.
Taking on the government, Rahul Gandhi questioned why the price of the Rafale jets were escalated from Rs 526 crore to Rs 1,600 crore.
Jaitley, who is a Rajya Sabha member, represented the government in the Lok Sabha. He said the Congress president has a “natural dislike for the truth” and has manufactured conversations in the past.
Gandhi sought permission to play an audio file claiming it had Goa CM Manohar Parrikar saying that he has the Rafale files with him at home. The Congress president also alleged that the new price that the PM negotiated received objections from a defence ministry official.
Jaitley hit back at the Congress by bringing up the Bofors scam, National Herald and the AgustaWestland cases. “If it was one case, I would have given them the benefit of doubt. But if in Bofors, National Herald and Agusta cases, the finger points to you (Congress), then three is a bit too much,” he said.
While the Congress and the BJP were busy debating Rafale, the AIADMK was protesting over the Cauvery issue. As many as 24 AIADMK members were suspended for creating ruckus in the Lok Sabha by chanting slogans and flinging torn pieces of paper.