Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of ‘treason’ over Rafale, cites Airbus email

India वोट Kar | February 12, 2019

Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of treason in connection with the Rafale deal. He cited an email which he said showed that industrialist Anil Ambani had been in Paris for a meeting with France’s defence minister 10 days ahead of the prime minister’s own visit, during which Modi announced the 36-jet deal.

The allegation

Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said Anil Ambani knew about the deal at a time when even the Defence Minister and the Foreign Secretary did not. “PM has done what spies do, he has compromised national security,” he said, alleging that this breached the Official Secrets Act.

The Airbus email

The email, from Airbus official Nicolas Chamussy and dated March 28, 2015, was addressed to three recipients with Ambani’s name as the subject line. It described a confidential meeting arranged at very short notice between Anil Ambani and Jean-Yves Le Drian, then France’s defence minister, which several Airbus employees reportedly attended.

According to the email, Ambani spoke of plans to work with Airbus Helicopters first on commercial helicopters and later on defence, and mentioned a memorandum of understanding he intended to sign during the prime minister’s visit. Rahul Gandhi said Ambani set up his company after this meeting.

According to Reliance Defence, Airbus had told Ambani it had other potential partners and the discussions did not go ahead. Airbus was reported to be continuing its work with the Mahindra Group.

CAG report and JPC demand

Rahul Gandhi dismissed the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on the deal as worthless, mocking it as a “Chowkidar Auditor General report”. He said the Supreme Court’s judgment on Rafale was now open to question, and repeated his demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe, arguing that the prime minister should allow one if he was not involved.

Originally published on 12 February 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.