New Delhi: In a big blow to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the Supreme Court on Thursday gave a clean chit to the Narendra Modi government in the Rafale fighter deal, saying the review petitions were without merit. Mr Gandhi had made the Rafale deal a poll plank not just in the Lok Sabha polls but also in the recently-held Maharashtra elections. In the Lok Sabha polls, one of the Congress key planks to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Rafale deal. Mr Gandhi went all out to accuse Mr Modi of “favouring his corporate friends”.
After the judgment the BJP took a dig at the Congress for repeatedly raising the Rafale deal. In a series of tweets, BJP president Amit Shah said the verdict of the court has proved that the disruption of Parliament over the Rafale deal was a “sham”. He added: “The Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss the review petition on #Rafale is a befitting reply to those leaders and parties who rely on malicious and baseless campaigns.”
The Congress, meanwhile, said the judgment “leaves the door open for investigation”. Mr Gandhi tweeted: “Justice (K.M.) Joseph of the Supreme Court has opened a huge door into investigation of the Rafale scam. An investigation must now begin in full earnest. A Joint Parliamentary Committee must also be set up to probe this scam,” He tweeted with the hashtag “BJP Lies On Rafale”. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the BJP should stop celebrations and the focus should be on investigations, as the court’s decision has paved the way for a probe into the Rafale deal.
