Chennai: Contending that there was no rationale in demanding a probe into Rs 58,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal, Union minister of state for finance and shipping Pon Radhakrishnan said the opposition Congress and the DMK were merely attempting to gain political mileage.
Flaying the Opposition parties for seeking a probe, he said Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had already made it clear that there were no irregularities in the deal. "It's a clear rebuttal given by my Senior Colleague Cabinet Minister Sh @arunjaitley ji to opposition parties, especially Mr @RahulGandhi who accusing Central Govt and our beloved Hon'ble PM Sh @narendramodi Ji on #RafaelDeal," he tweeted.
The French government has said it was in no manner involved in the choice of Indian industrial partners for the Rafale fighter jet deal, and asserted that French companies have the full frEedom to select Indian firms for the contract.
Meanwhile, former union minister P. Chidambaram ridiculed the Modi government for declining a probe into the Rafale deal, and asked the FM to "either toss a coin or order a probe".
"Truth cannot have two versions, says finance minister (Jaitley). Absolutely correct. Since, according to the finance minister, there are two versions, what is the best way to find out which version is 'true'?" P. Chidambaram asked in a series of tweets. "Either (1) order an inquiry or (2) toss a coin. I suppose the finance minister would prefer to toss a coin (preferably with 'head' on both sides)," he said in a tweet.
"It is a pity that the government does not see the inexorable flow of events and refuses to order an inquiry. Who knows what will happen in six months or 12 months," the senior Congress leader said.
