Rahul tried to bring Rafale at par to Bofors, says Jaitley: Insists SC order is final

New Delhi, Dec 16 (UNI) The government on Sunday ridiculed Opposition Congress and other parties’ demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale aircraft deal and insisted that the Supreme Court’s verdict should be considered final.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who also held Defence portfolio for two brief spells, alleged that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was 'desperate' trying to bring an ‘immoral equivalence’ between Rafale and Bofors. "But Rafale did not have middlemen, no kickbacks and obviously no Ottavio Quattrocchi,” said Mr Jaitley.

“....with international cooperation and Governmental cooperation, scamsters of the UPA Government are now being extradited into India. There is obviously a scare of who will talk how much,” Mr Jaitley wrote in his blog piece posted on Facebook.

“The opponents of the Rafale had a choice of their forum to put their facts, they chose Supreme Court as their forum. The Court conducts a judicial review, it is a non-partisan, independent and a fair Constitutional authority. The Court’s verdict is final,” the Minister wrote.

He said that court ruling on Rafale cannot “be reviewed by anyone except by the Court itself”.



“How can a Parliamentary Committee go into the correctness or otherwise to what the Court has said. Is a Committee of Politicians both legally and in terms of human resources capable of reviewing issues already decided by the Supreme Court?,” wrote Mr Jaitley, also an eminent lawyer himself.

On the Opposition parties and the likes of Prashant Bhushan and Arun Shourie, who have expressed reservation on the court verdict, Mr Jaitley wrote: “The creators of falsehood will still persist with falsehood even at the cost of their own credibility”.

He further wrote: “All the lies spoken on the Rafale deal has been exposed. The Supreme Court judgement is clear. Every word said against the Government has proved to be false. Every “fact” stated by the vested interests against the deal has proved to be manufactured. Truth has once again established its primacy”.

The Finance Minister especially lampooned at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his continuous attack on Prime Minister Modi and the NDA dispensation.

“Rahul Gandhi got instant support from the “career nationalists” of Lutyens Delhi. The permanent PIL petitioners have always preferred disruptions over concerns of national security. They are willing to cooperate with anyone who hurts India,” wrote Mr Jaitley.

He also said Mr Gandhi’s opposition was obviously for “three reasons” -- firstly, he could not tolerate the fact that PM Modi has run the cleanest ever Government in recent Indian history.

“It is a scam-free Government where middlemen and scamsters had to take refuge outside the country”.

“Secondly, Rahul Gandhi has the burden of a stigmatised legacy which was tainted by Bofors.

He was desperate trying to bring an ‘immoral equivalence’ between Rafale and Bofors. But Rafale did not have middlemen, no kickbacks and obviously no Ottavio Quattrocchi,” wrote Mr Jaitley.

“Thirdly, with international cooperation and Governmental cooperation, scamsters of the UPA Government are now being extradited into India. There is obviously a scare of who will talk how much,” he added.