Rahul Gandhi’s Rafale attack an attempt to divert attention, says Arun Jaitley

The BJP on Thursday described Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal as an attempt to shift attention, claiming the Congress had boxed itself into a corner on national security and faced public disapproval.

Jaitley’s response

Briefing reporters after a Cabinet meeting, Union minister Arun Jaitley said every falsehood spoken by the Congress and Rahul Gandhi on Rafale had been exposed, and that no dynast could claim to be above the Supreme Court and the CAG. He claimed the facts that had emerged so far showed the Congress leader had spoken untruths on every point.

Jaitley said statements by senior Congress leaders in recent days had isolated the party: they were getting high ratings on Pakistani television but faced disapproval within India. The motive, he said, was to change the subject by taking up an issue that had already been shown to be false.

He also defended the government’s stand in the Supreme Court on media reports said to be based on Rafale documents “stolen” from the defence ministry. Sensitive defence notings had clearly been leaked, he said; India has a free press, but national security was an exception recognised by the framers of the Constitution and not challenged in 72 years. The government had repeatedly made its position clear, he said, the Supreme Court had ruled on the matter, and the CAG had examined it.

Prasad’s charge

Earlier in the day, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Rahul Gandhi trusted neither the Indian Air Force nor the Supreme Court verdict, and asked whether he needed a certificate from Pakistan about the fighter aircraft. Prasad alleged that the Congress president trusted Pakistan more than India’s forces, and said the court had clearly found no commercial impropriety in the procurement.

See also: Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress

Originally published on 7 March 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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