New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Emannuel Macron on Saturday, the Congress slammed the BJP government over the Rafale deal, saying it is turning out to be yet another "mother scam".

Asking the government to come clear on the deal, Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said: "You must be aware that for the last 3-4 days, we have been speaking (in Parliament) about the Rafale deal. For three days continuously we have been asking, but not one word from the government, not even denial.

"This is turning out to be yet another mother scam which I think the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government must come clear on," the Congress leader said.

"Where are the spokespersons of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ministers -- Piyush Goyal, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman? Not one word about Rafale deal," he added.

Vadakkan said that the BJP's attempt to cover up the deal was falling flat. "On April 8, 2016, the Foreign Secretary said the Prime Minister is not going to take up the Rafale deal in his trip to France. On the contrary, the deal was signed. Where was the Defence Minister at that time?"

Vadakkan also said India had paid high price to France for the purchase of the fighter aircraft compared to prices paid by countries like Egypt and Qatar.

"It was not some charity. The government should answer where the money has gone. It is very strange indeed. What is it that they are trying to cover up? What is it that they are trying to hide," he said.

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New Delhi (PTI): The much-awaited decision about the new chief minister of Delhi will be made in the BJP legislature party meeting to be held at the party's Delhi unit office on Wednesday evening.

The BJP has come to power after 26 years, defeating the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls.

Preparations were complete for the legislature party meeting that is expected to begin around 7 pm at Delhi BJP office, the party leaders said.

The 48 BJP MLAs will choose the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly who will become the chief minister.

The meeting will be held in the presence of BJP's central observers, whose names are yet to be declared. The new chief minister after being chosen by the party MLAs will meet Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena at the Raj Niwas to stake claim to power.

Meanwhile, preparations are in full swing for a grand swearing-in ceremony of the new government at Ramleela Ground on Thursday afternoon.

Around 50,000 people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues and the chief minister of NDA ruled states among other guests, will attend the ceremony.

The names doing the rounds for the new chief minister include Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal; former Delhi BJP presidents Vijender Gupta and Satish Upadhyay; and other leaders such as Pawan Sharma, Ashish Sood, Rekha Gupta and Shikha Rai.

The names of Ravinder Indraj Singh, the MLA from Bawana (SC) seat, and Kailash Gangwal, who won the Madipur (SC) seat for the BJP for the first time, are also being discussed.

Many within the party believe that the BJP leadership could choose a "dark horse" as Delhi's next chief minister, a strategy the party opted for in Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.