Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday hit back at Congress over its charges on Rafale aircraft deal saying that its entire campaign on the issue is based on falsehood.
Replying to a debate on Rafale deal in the Lok Sabha, Ms Sitharaman said, the Congress is misleading the country both in the Parliament and outside on basis of untruth.
She said, the NDA government has done a better deal than the UPA with 9 per cent cheaper basic price than during the UPA times.
The defence minister, however, said, under the secrecy clause the price of weaponised aircraft cannot be disclosed and earlier governments also followed it.
On the issue of not involving Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, HAL in the deal, Ms Sitharaman said, the aircraft manufactured by France will be cheaper than the aircraft made by the HAL as it would have required 2.7 time more manpower.
The Minister said the Supreme Court in its judgement also found no reason for intervention on the issue of purchasing 36 aircraft and perception of individuals cannot be the basis of an inquiry.
Later, the Congress staged a walkout demanding a JPC probe into the deal.
Earlier, during the discussion, Dharmendra Yadav of Samajwadi Party questioned the deal and said the way a particular private company has been involved in the deal, raises several doubts. He reiterated opposition’s demand for JPC probe.
He was supported by A. P. Jithender Reddy of TRS. Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav of RJD also echoed same views. Mallikarjun Kharge of Congress demanded that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi should answer the questions on the deal in Parliament.
Anurag Thakur of BJP said Congress was involved in corrupt practices in defence deals in the past.
Mr Thakur also attacked Rahul Gandhi for questioning a woman journalist who interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently.
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