NewDelhi: National Herald, a Congress mouthpiece, recently compared the Rafale deal to the Bofors scam in a screaming headline that may have turned into a major political gaffe. That Congress has never admitted that Bofors scam ever happened but it is a claim that has, possibly, been proven hollow by referring to Rafale deal to it.
‘Rafale: Modi’s Bofors’
That’s what National Herald had as its main headline, giving ammunition to BJP and critics of Congress party to highlight how it was a clear admission of the Bofors scandal which took place during Rajiv Gandhi’s term as PM. And while it may have been a bid to attack the current government on the deal for Rafale jets – Congress has maintained the deal struck with France has hiked prices of each fighter plane, it has spectacularly backfired. “As far as National Herald is concerned, it is a newspaper which belongs to Rahul Gandhi and it has behaved like him. It does not know to say yes or no,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told News.
Bofors scandal primarily refers to a major political uproar in the 1980s and 1990s when Rajiv Gandhi and many top Indian and Swedish ministers were accused of hacing taken kickbacks for the purchase of 155mm field howitzers. Congress to date denies of any wrongdoing with former party leader and ex President Pranab Mukherjee even calling it a media trial.
BJP though has repeatedly referred to it to pin down Congress while Rahul Gandhi has fired back by trying to pin the NDA government on the Rafale deal. Recently, the Congress President – during a no-confidence motion debate in Lok Sabha – went to the extent of saying Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said ‘untruth’ about a secret deal with France which restricting making prices of the jets public. The charge was met with severe criticism from BJP ministers and was also reportedly proven hollow by the French government.
Leave a Reply