'INC = I Need Commission': BJP attacks Congress on new Rafale report

Seizing on a French media report that commissions were paid between 2007 and 2012 for securing the Rafale deal with India, the BJP on Tuesday said the INC (Indian National Congress) should be renamed as "I Need Commission".

The party alleged that the Congress' dissatisfaction with the cut on offer was behind the failed negotiations when it was in power.

Also See | Rafale middleman Sushen Gupta paid Rs 65 crore bribe, CBI & ED know about it: French publication

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra launched a scathing attack on the Congress leadership, especially Rahul Gandhi who has been alleging corruption in the purchase of the fighter aircraft by the Modi government. Patra accused him of spreading "canard, disinformation and lies".

Patra also sought Rahul Gandhi's response to the fresh revelation by French investigative journal Mediapart.

He should respond to this from Italy, Patra said, citing reports that the Congress leader is currently not in India.

Corruption has become "homeless" after the BJP came to power, and its address is 10 Janpath, he alleged, referring to the residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress hit back at the BJP, saying that the government has launched "operation cover up" and demanded to know as to why it had not probed the entire episode so far.

Also Watch | Explained: Rafale deal probe in France and what it means for India

Noting that his party has been seeking a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the deal, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera asked as to why the government has not agreed to this.

Political battle over the matter has heated up after Mediapart made fresh claims that bogus invoices were used that enabled French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation to pay at least 7.5 million euros in secret commissions to a middleman to help it secure the Rafale deal with India.

According to Mediapart's investigation, Dassault Aviation paid the kickbacks to the intermediary in Mauritius between 2007 and 2012.

The Congress-led UPA was in power between 2004 and 2014, leading the ruling BJP for the first time to launch an aggressive counter-attack on the main opposition party after confining itself mostly to dismiss its allegations of corruption in the deal.

The Modi government had inked the deal on September 23, 2016, to procure 36 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the UPA regime.