New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday vowed that if his party comes to power this year, a criminal investigation will be launched into the Rafale deal and the accused will be punished. Gandhi has been relentlessly attacking Modi-led NDA government over the controversial deal and has firm in wanting to initiate a JPC probe.

Speaking to the media outside Parliament ahead of the government's reply, he urged Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to answer the questions raised by the Congress on the multi-million dollar fighter jet deal. "We and the entire opposition want that when defence minister speaks on the PM's behalf, the questions raised by us should be answered," Gandhi told journalists, reported PTI.

The Congress president also asked Sitharaman whether any objections were raised on the Rafale contract file by the negotiating team and the defence ministry. Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running away from the debate and said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should answer questions raised by the Congress instead of abusing him.

Hitting back at the Congress allegations, Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha defence purchases are related to national security irrespective of who is in power.

“The environment around India’s neighbourhood is volatile especially in western frontier and northern border. We should recognise timely procurement of arms is priority for our defence forces,” she said.

Sithataram cited examples of host of fighter jets and weapons being added to China and Pakistan’s arsenal.  She questioned why the Congress didn’t purchase Rafale jets between 2006-2014.

She said the first Rafale jet would arrive in India by September 2019 and by 2022 the remaining 35 jets would be received.