Kejriwal asks PM Modi to convene spl session of Parliament to discuss Rafale issue

On Friday, a French media report quoted Hollande as purportedly saying that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence as the partner for Dassault Aviation in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal and France did not have a choice.

Image: ANI

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi call a special session of Parliament to discuss Rafale jet fighter deal. On Friday, the chief minister had asked the BJP-led central government to come clean on the Rafale deal in light of former French president Francois Hollande's purported statement "directly contradicting" its stand. "PM shud call a spl session of Parliament to discuss Rafael (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted. On Friday, a French media report quoted Hollande as purportedly saying that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence as the partner for Dassault Aviation in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal and France did not have a choice. Earlier on Saturday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in a stinging attack on Modi,  said Hollande's remarks on Reliance Defence showed "clear cut" corruption in the Rafale deal and questioned the prime minister's "silence" on the issue. Soon after, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad condemned as "shameful and irresponsible" Gandhi's remarks against Modi over the Rafale deal, saying no president of any party has ever used such language against a prime minister.