Rahul Gandhi cites newspaper report to accuse PM Modi over Rafale talks

Congress president Rahul Gandhi renewed his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale fighter jet deal, citing a newspaper report to allege that the prime minister had bypassed the official negotiations.

The report

According to the report, which appeared in The Hindu, France had gained an advantage from separate parallel talks conducted by the Prime Minister’s Office, which it said weakened the Indian negotiating team’s position in talks with France.

Rahul Gandhi’s allegations

At a press conference, Rahul Gandhi alleged that Modi had taken Rs 30,000 crore from the Indian armed forces and handed it to his friend Anil Ambani. He said the Defence Ministry’s own record showed that former French president Francois Hollande had been telling the truth, and on that basis he declared the prime minister guilty in the Rafale case.

He also accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying. He claimed that the former French president had admitted that France was made to choose Anil Ambani at Modi’s instance.

Modi’s defence a day earlier

Rahul Gandhi used the report to counter a vigorous defence that Modi had made in Parliament on Thursday. Responding to the Congress’s repeated corruption charges on the deal, the prime minister had said the Congress wanted a weak Indian Air Force and did not want the force to become strong. He had also said the party was acting shamefully on behalf of companies that were bidding.

See also: Congress and BJP

Originally published on 8 February 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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