New Delhi, Jan 3 (IT): Rahul Gandhi let Prime Minister Narendra Modi see some "exam questions" in advance last night. Say what? It was just an expression: the Congress boss was informing his Twitter followers that his party would bring up the contentious NDA deal for French Rafale jets in Parliament (again). Meanwhile, the BJP thinks it's Gandhi who needs to take an exam on a defence deal.
AgustaWestland
GVL Narasimha Rao, a Rajya Sabha MP (and a BJP spokesperson), said the Modi government passed the Rafale test "with distinction". He then returned Rahul Gandhi's fire in his Twitter reply.
It was time, Rao said, for Gandhi to sit with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and "Uncle Christian Michel" in an exam. "AK Antony [a former defence minister] agreed in Parliament that bribes were paid in the AgustaWestland deal. Time for you reveal who got how much of the loot!" he said.
Christian Michel, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland case, was recently extradited to India. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed that Michel spoke about the "son of an Italian lady" and took "Mrs Gandhi's" name in reference to a query. (These are claims made by ED officials. They need to be ascertained before a court of law.)
Yesterday Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley raked up the AgustaWestland case along with two others -- Bofors and National Herald -- to tear into Rahul Gandhi's family in Parliament. He quoted, with a slight modification, a line from a James Bond movie:
"If it is once, it's happenstance, it can happen. If it is twice, it is a coincidence. And if it is thrice, it's a conspiracy."