Rafale row: We need to fight the perception battle, says Defence Minister Sitharaman

Days after saying that she would no longer reply to opposition's accusation regarding Rafale deal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that is a perception battle and BJP is ready to fight it. Sitharaman was quoted as saying, " We need to fight the perception battle. Many of us will be speaking across the country. Facts have to come out". 

Reiterating Arun Jaitley's claim that, Sitharaman said that Rahul Gandhi's claim had an 'international dimension'. The Rafale case got a massive twist when ex-French PM Hollande said that Indian government had recommended Reliance Defence as offset partner. The claim has subsequently been refuted by Dassault and French government, yet the controversy has got a new lease of life. Rahul Gandhi has directly attacked the PM saying' chowkidar chor hai'. Pakistan also has alleged that the bilateral talks were cancelled to take away attention from the Rafale controversy. 

In this context, Sitharaman saying that it is a perception battle which the BJP will fight is an indication that the party is taking the issue very seriously and is not simply rejecting it off hand like it was doing earlier. Firing fresh salvo at the prime minister on the Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Monday charged country's "chowkidar" Narendra Modi with snatching away money from the poor and handing it over to industrialist Anil Ambani.

He asked the prime minister for answers on why Rafale price was not disclosed and how Ambani got the contract. "The chowkidar of the country has taken out Rs 20,000 crore from the pockets of the poor, martyrs and the jawans and put it in the pocket of Ambani," Gandhi said at a meeting in the Jais area of his constituency.

The Congress chief arrived in Amethi on a two-day visit, the first after his Kailash Mansarover pilgrimage, and said the people of the country wants to know the amount involved in the Rafale deal. "Why was the price not disclosed...how was the contract given to Ambani... serious charges have been levelled by former French president Francois Hollande," he said.

Recalling that during a debate in Parliament on Rafale deal, "The prime minister could not look me in the eye. PM gives speeches but no answers... he does not have the courage to give reply." "Under the BJP government, the farmers and poor are crying... the present government is providing all benefits to a selected five to ten people," he said, adding people like Anil Ambani, Vijay Mallaya and Lalit Modi are getting all benefits.

With PTI inputs