Rahul Gandhi says Hollande has called Modi a thief, PM should reply
New Delhi, Sep 22 : Ratcheting up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said former French President Francois Hollande has called him a "thief" in the Rafale deal and sought a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the issue.
Addressing a press conference a day after Hollande had said that the French government had no role in making a private Indian firm get the offset contract, Gandhi questioned Modi's silence and asked him to come clean on whether Hollande was telling the truth or not.
"For the first time, an ex-French President is calling our PM a thief. It is a question of the dignity of the office of Prime Minister. It is the question of the future of our jawans and the Air Force. It is very important for PM now to either accept Mr. Hollande's statement or state that Mr. Hollande is lying and tell what the truth is," Gandhi said.
"What I'm surprised at is that PM is completely silent. Not one word has come out from PM's mouth on this. This is from a (former) President of France, who had a one-on-one meeting with PM where the Rafale deal was decided," he added.
Referring to Modi having earlier described himself as "chowkidar (watchman)" Gandhi said he had given a "free gift" of Rs 30,000 crore to his industrialist friend.
"This has entered into people's mind that the country's watchman is thief. He should come clear," Gandhi said.
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40 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Netanyahu, Trump meet over ceasefire
Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Jul 9 (AP): At least 40 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Wednesday, as international mediators raced to complete a ceasefire deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a second meeting in two days with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday evening. Trump has been pushing for a ceasefire that might lead to an end to the 21-month war in Gaza. Israel and Hamas are considering a new US-backed ceasefire proposal that would pause the war, free Israeli hostages and send much-needed aid into Gaza.
Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said the dead included included 17 women and 10 children. It said one strike killed 10 people from the same family, including three children.
The Israeli military did not comment on specific strikes, but said it had struck more than 100 targets across Gaza over the past day, including Hamas members, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and tunnels. Israel accuses Hamas of hiding weapons and fighters among civilians.
