Anil Ambani knew about Rafale deal in advance; PM helped his friend, says Rahul Gandhi

Sharpening his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of Rafale deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he had a copy of an email that proved the Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani knew he would get the Rafale deal even before it was signed.

"Dear students & the youth of india: everyday there are new revelations about RAFALE that make it clear that the PM helped his friend Anil Ambani, steal 30,000 crore of your money," he said on Twitter. During his press conference, Rahul said earlier there was "one axis of corruption, second axis of procedure. This is the third, and frankly a serious one, where PM Modi has compromised national security."

Alleging corruption at all the levels on the issue, Rahul said: "Defence Minister says he doesn't know about the new deal, whereas Anil Ambani is sitting in the French Defence Minister's office saying PM will sign an MoU with him involved. This is the breach of the Official Secrets Act."

He added that the PM was under oath to protect secrets. "He has given these secrets to Anil Ambani, who knew about the biggest defence deal in the world 10 days before. This itself is criminal. This itself will put the Prime Minister in jail," he said.

.... : @RahulGandhi #ChowkidarChorHai pic.twitter.com/5koTBVO8Za

- Congress (@INCIndia) February 12, 2019

Sharing the document, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said: "It seems Airbus, French Government, Anil Ambani all knew that the PM will sign an MOU on his visit to France between 9th and 11th April, 2015."

It seems Airbus , French Government , Anil Ambani all knew that the PM will sign an MOU on his visit to France between 9th and 11th April , 2015 .

This Government's lies exposed. pic.twitter.com/rJGNNycaRH

- Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) February 12, 2019

The email, dated March 28, 2015, quotes an Airbus representative who claimed that "Anil Ambani visited" then French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian's office in Paris, which it claimed was "confidential" and "planned". The email is dated March 28, 2015, which is just a few days before Prime Minister announced the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France.

The Congress president asked how much more evidence does the government want on the Rafale deal, and that there will be more revelations soon. He even raised objection over the SC verdict, saying: The "Supreme Court judgement is open to question. It does not have jurisdiction and has quoted the CAG report which does not exist."

The government is scheduled to table the CAG report on Rafale jet fighter deal in Parliament today. The whole issue of the Rafale deal has become a controversial political issue, with the main opposition party Congress levelling allegations of corruption and impropriety, and the ruling dispensation defending the move.

The Rafale issue was even raised before the Supreme Court, which did not find any substance in the allegations. However, the issue has continued to rock Parliament with Congress President Rahul Gandhi directly accusing the Prime Minister of benefiting industrialist Anil Ambani.

Edited by Manoj Sharma