PM Modi is corrupt, I repeat : Rahul Gandhi on Rafale deal

"It is absolutely clear that the prime minister is corrupt. I repeat, the prime minister of India is a corrupt man... and sadly, his entire campaign was on fighting corruption," Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference in the Congress office.

"He is actually not your prime minister. He is Anil Ambani's prime minister," Rahu,l added.

A report by Mediaport said a top Dassault official, Loik Segalen, had explained to his staff at a presentation last year that the joint venture with Reliance Defence was "imperative and obligatory for Dassault Aviation, to accept this condition, in order to obtain the export contract for Rafale from India".

"Earlier former French President revealed that Indian PM had told them that Reliance should get a deal. Now a senior official of #Rafale has said the same. It is a clear cut case of corruption... I repeat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is corrupt," Gandhi said.

Calling Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman’s ongoing three-day trip to France a part of the “cover up” by the government in the Rafael deal, he  said details of other “contracts” given to benefit industrialist Anil Ambani will soon come out.

“Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's trip to France is part of a huge government "cover-up" on Rafale. This is a clear cut case of corruption. This is not only about Rafael or defence industry. There are other contracts. More information about other contracts will come. Similar questions will be raised about other contracts,” he said.

Gandhi alleged that the defence minister had gone to "put pressure" on Dassault. "And let me make one more thing very clear... Dassault is sitting on a massive contract... It will obviously say whatever the Indian government wants it to say. But look at the internal documentation in Dassault... that makes it clear as to what had happened"," he claimed.

Mediapart's article reinforces the explosive statement by former French president Francois Hollande last month that France did not have a choice in selecting Anil Ambani's rookie defence company for the offset clause in which  Dassault has to ensure that business worth at least half the deal's worth -- Rs.30,000 crore -- is generated in India. Dassault had said even then that the decision was its own.