PANAJI: The ruling BJP’s Goa unit demanded that the Congress apologise to the security forces and the people of India for their misleading campaign on the Rafale jet deal.
Hours after the Supreme Court dismissed multiple pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the controversial deal alleging corruption, the party’s local spokesperson Subhash Faldesai said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi must apologise for his false campaign and for demoralizing the defence forces.
Faldesai said the Congress misguided people on Rafael
deal during the recent elections held in the five northern states and this could be one of the factors for the
party’s defeat.
He added that had this verdict come before the elections the BJP party could have won.
“In two states - Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - we lost by a close margin,” he said.
“Since there is no scam in the last 4-year term of the government, Congress decided rake up the Rafale issue,” he added.
Criticising the Congress for the delay in negotiating the Rafael deal earlier, Faldesai said it was finalised by the BJP government and avoiding unnecessary spending.
For the first time a direct contract from government to government was signed leaving no scope for corruption, he claimed.
He also said that the election results of the five states would not affect the party’s prospects in the Lok Sabha elections and the BJP will win in 2019. “Modi’s popularity is at the highest. No leader can touch his popularity,” he said.
