Rafale deal secrecy clause: Rahul Gandhi lowered his own credibility, says Jaitley

Targetting Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly during his speech on the No Confidence Motion in Lok Sabha on Friday,  Rahul Gandhi said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied about the facts of the Rafale deal and a secrecy clause under pressure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, soon the French Embassy issued a statement to deny what Rahul claimed in Parliament.

The French Embassy in New Delhi issued a statement to cite an India Today interview of their President and affirmed that the deal was sensitive and hence the details cannot be revealed.

Speaking on the same, Jaitley, in a Facebook post titled 'Frivolity and the No Confidence Motion', wrote, "Regrettably, the President of the Congress Party missed a great opportunity.  If this was his best argument for 2019, God help his party."

"His lack of understanding is not only confined to basic issues but also to the niceties of protocol.  One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government or a Head of State.  You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence," said he.

Jaitley also accused Rahul of embarrassing Manmohan Singh by implicitly insinuating that the former Indian Prime Minister  was a "witness to the conversation being wholly unaware that his own Government had entered into the secrecy pact."

"Rahul has repeatedly shown that he is ignorant of facts.  But to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt national interest.  Cost gives away a clue to the weaponry in the aircraft," Jaitley further noted.