Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday carried the can for the government, excavating the Congress’ past scandals — Bofors, AgustaWestland, National Herald — and mocking Rahul Gandhi’s “kindergarten-level” understanding, on a day when paper planes and arguments flew thick and fast in the Lok Sabha. The NDA ally Shiv Sena joined the Opposition ranks during a stormy debate on Rafale deal.
Jaitley rejected the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the deal, accusing Congress President Rahul Gandhi of “manufacturing lies” to tar the government. Amid loud protests by the AIADMK MPs over the Cauvery issue — a move dubbed by Rahul Gandhi as a “ploy” by the BJP to disrupt the debate — Trinamool Congress veteran Saugata Roy was vivid in his description of the Finance Minister acting as a “shield” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM criticised
The PM was criticised for his absence in the House during a debate which questioned his role in the purchase of about ₹60,000-crore worth Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCAs) from the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation, and award of offsets to the newly-minted Reliance Defence Ltd at the cost of public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
“They cannot find a single BJP MP in the Lok Sabha to defend the government. They have to import a Member from the Rajya Sabha, who is not the Defence Minister to carry out the job… And like Meghnad of the Ramayana, the Meghnad of Rafale hides behind the smoke screen you have created,” said Saugata Roy.
While the PM remained absent, Jaitley led the charge from the Treasury Benches, describing Congress President as a “liar” and obstructing his move to quote a taped recording of claims by a Goan Cabinet Minister of alleged confession by former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar storing files related to Rafale purchase. To Rahul Gandhi’s charge — the PM “does not have the guts to face Parliament and hides in his room” favouring his “dear friend and failed businessman Anil Ambani” — Jaitley said, “It is a tragedy that the Grand Old Party which was headed by legends in the past is now headed by a gentleman who doesn’t have basic understanding of a combat aircraft.”
On PM’s interview
Gandhi, on his part, was equally belligerent, taking pot-shots at the PM for giving a “staged interview” while Parliament is in session and choosing to stay absent in the House. “He (Modi) spoke for 90 minutes during a staged interview but still did not answer relevant questions on Rafale,” said Gandhi.
The Opposition, especially Jaidev Galla of the TDP and Mohammad Salim of CPI(M), accused the government of “misleading the Supreme Court”, whose judgment on Rafale they are now quoting as a “clean chit”.
“You told the Supreme Court that the pricing details of deal have been shared with the CAG and the report of the CAG has been examined by the PAC. This is patently untrue. The government has misled the Court and such a claim is contempt of Parliament,” said Jaidev Galla.
Kalikesh Singh Deo of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) said none of the issues pertaining to Rafale has been addressed. “Like a good lawyer, he has cherry-picked the facts,” said Singh Deo.
Shiv Sena joins in
The Shiv Sena surprised members in the House with its MP Arvind Sawant joining the Opposition in demanding a JPC into Rafale. “ We believe there are issues in denying HAL a contract in favour of a company that has no record in Defence manufacturing and owes thousands of crores of debt. What was the head of this company doing in a delegation which went with the PM to France? We need to clear the air over this,” said Sawant.