Urban Mirror Correspondent
New Delhi, January 03: The Lok Gathbandhan Party (LGP) today criticised the NDA government for running away from proper investigation into controversial Rafale jet fighter deal. The LGP said with every passing day the deal with the French company is getting murkier with the accusing fingers being raised on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The spokesman of the party said here on Thursday that recent audio tapes of a Goa minister indicating that Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar has the files connected with the deal and has been blackmailing the BJP on the issue has further raised questions over the scandal. The spokesman said the debate in Lok Sabha over the deal has also led to revelation of more facts about the scam but the BJP is escaping from JPC probe. The spokesman said there is consternation among the people over the scandal as it was witnessed during the Bofors scam. Thus the BJP cannot run away from the investigation, the spokesman said and added the NDA certainly owes an explanation to the nation on the issue. The spokesman said a petition has again been filed in the Supreme Court for the review of its judgement dated December 14, 2018.
The spokesman said since this deal is no less dubious than other defence purchases in the past during the Congress governments, an honest probe into the matter has become imperative and the NDA government cannot brush aside it any longer. Repeated clarifications of the government have failed to satisfy the people, the spokesman said and added in order to serve the interest of crony capitalist it has refused to scarp the deal. The spokesman said just by sloganeering on honesty and transparency the NDA leadership cannot mislead the people which will surely reflect in 2019 Lok Sabha election. Pointing out that Rafale deal is mother of all corruption, the spokesman said it is shocking that interest of the country has been pushed aside to look after financial interest of a corporate house. The spokesman expressed surprise over the arrival of the corporate house on the scene and exclusion of HAL for maintenance of the imported planes. Asserting that the country wanted to know the cost of the aircraft and not other classified technical and security information the spokesman said the government’s argument about the fairness in deal is not sustainable.
