Rafale Deal: Vadra asks Modi to tell nation the truth
New Delhi, Sep 26: Congress President Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra on Wednesday accused the Narendra Modi-led BJP government of indulging in "witch hunt" against him and said that they should tell the nation the "truth rather than hiding behind a bunch of lies".
In a Facebook post, Vadra said that it used to "amaze" him in the beginning. "But now it has become a wholesale farce that the BJP rakes up my name every time they are cornered, whether it's the falling rupee, soaring oil prices or this latest number when they have been totally exposed selling out the nation on Rafale," he said.
Vadra's remarks come after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that there was a nexus between him and arms dealer and middleman Sanjay Bhandari due to which the Rafale deal with French firm was cancelled in 2012.
Vadra, who is married to Rahul Gandhi's sister Priyanka Gandhi, said, "Having all the agencies under their beck and call... No one knows better than the BJP that they have indulged in a baseless political witch hunt against me for the last four years."
"Instead they should man up with their 56 inch chest and tell the nation the truth about the Rafale deal rather than hiding behind a bunch of lies which the people are fed up of hearing," he added.
The BJP on Tuesday alleged that Bhandari, who has close links with Vadra, formed a company named Offset India Solutions (OIS) in 2008 and he formed a joint venture with Rafaut as he tried to enter into an offset clause in the Rafale fighter jets deal through the back door.
The BJP alleged that the then government mounted pressure on the French firm Dassault Aviation to give works to Bhandari's company.
The BJP also said that the Rafale deal was scrapped after years of negotiations as Vadra was not getting the commission out of the deal.
The party also alleged that Vadra had received a flat in London worth Rs 19 crore and air tickets to Zurich from Bhandari to secure defence deals for him.
The Congress has been accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of indulging in crony capitalism apart from violating procedures in the Rafale deal.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
