Cong will launch investigation into Rafale scam if voted to power in 2019: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Jan 4: Congress President Rahul Gandhi Friday said if his party comes to power in 2019, a criminal investigation will be launched into the Rafale deal and those found guilty will be punished.
Speaking to the media outside Parliament ahead of the government's reply in Lok Sabha over the issue, he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running away from the debate and posed a series of questions to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
"Let me tell you that if we come to power in 2019, then there will be (an) investigation (into the Rafale deal). There will be a criminal investigation and the people responsible will be punished," Gandhi told reporters.
He added that the Supreme Court had said in its judgement that inquiring into the Rafale deal is not in its jurisdiction, but nowhere did it say that an inquiry should not be held.
"We and the entire opposition want that when the defence minister speaks on the prime minister's behalf, the questions raised by us should be answered," the Congress chief said.
Gandhi said his questions were what the youngsters were asking Modi.
"Who decided to raise the price of the aircraft from Rs 526 crore to Rs 1,600 crore? Whose decision was this? Was this an air force decision, was it the defence ministry's decision or was it the prime minister's decision? There has to be a clear-cut answer, no confusion," he said.
Gandhi also questioned the decision to reduce the number of aircraft to be bought from 126 to 36.
"Who took this decision and were national security concerns considered when this decision was taken?" he asked.
The Congress chief also asked if the Air Force had sought the reduction in the number of aircraft.
Gandhi asked if the defence ministry had objected to any element of the new deal.
"Did they question this deal? Are there documents with the defence ministry that show that they opposed this deal? She (Nirmala Sitharaman) should clearly state (that) no, there are no documents in the defence ministry that clearly state that the defence ministry was against the deal. That is the statement that what we want to hear from her," he said
"If there were objections or file notings with objections of the defence ministry, then we want to know that on what basis did the prime minister overrule those objections," he said.
Gandhi also questioned the decision to give the offset contract to Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence.
"Who gave the contract to Anil Ambani? French president Francois Hollande said that Prime Minister Modi and Dassault Aviation's internal emails state that the government of India and the prime minister of India asked for giving the contract to Anil Ambani," he said.
"The president of France has clearly stated that Narendra Modi made himself very clear that the deal was only possible if Anil Ambani got the contract. We would like the defence minister to clearly state that no, the prime minister did not push HAL out and the defence minister pushed HAL out," he added.
The "government simply refuses to answer the fundamental questions", Gandhi alleged.
"I can already tell you that she will not be able to answer these questions. I hope she can answer these questions because I would be very happy if she can clearly state the answer to these questions. But, I have my doubts," he said.
"The prime minister, who is being accused in this matter, chose not to show up in the House, chose to run away from the House and he refused to put his foot in the Lok Sabha," he added.
The Congress chief also attacked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Gandhi said the minister should answer the Congress's questions instead of abusing him and asked if it was wrong to question why Rs 1,600 crore is being paid for an aircraft worth Rs 526.
"Arun Jaitley should stop abusing me and answer the questions instead. You answer the questions raised by me first and then abuse me as much as you want. he likes to abuse me...the fundamental question here is there should be a JPC," he said.
Addressing the country's youth, he said this is not Narendra Modi's money or Anil Ambani's money, "this is your money, this is the money of your future".
Asked about the narrative for 2019 elections, Gandhi said, "It is jobs for Indians. The second narrative is destruction of the economy by Narendra Modi and providing education and healthcare to all people. The last narrative is the immense corruption by Mr Modi and stealing of Rs 30,000 crore and giving it to his friend Mr Anil Ambani. That is the narrative."
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
