Now, BJP, Congress spar over contracts to HAL

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Now, BJP, Congress spar over contracts to HAL

The allegations and counter allegations was started by Congress President Rahul Gandhi

Sunday January 6, 2019 8:10 PM, ummid.com News Network

New Delhi: Amidst already intensified debate over Rafale fighter jet deal in and outside the Parliament, the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress Saturday sparred over the contracts given to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The allegations and counter allegations was started by Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi in a message posted on Twitter accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of "misleading" and "lying" in the parliament.

Asserting that Sitharaman's claim made in the Parliament that the government had given contracts worth 1 Lakh Crore rupees to HAL is false, Gandhi said she should prove her claim or resign as minister.

"When you tell one lie, you need to keep spinning out more lies, to cover up the first one. In her eagerness to defend the PM's Rafale lie, the RM lied to Parliament. Tomorrow, RM (Raksha Mantri) must place before Parliament documents showing 1 Lakh crore of Govt orders to HAL", Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter.

Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter post came after a media report claimed that “not a single rupee of the said Rs 1 lakh crore has come to HAL”. The media report cited senior HAL management officials in order to back its claim.

In her counter offensive, Sitharaman said it was a matter of “shame” that the Congress president was misleading the country on the issue. She also tagged with her post details of the contract awarded to HAL since 2014 when the BJP came to power.

"It's a shame that the president of @INCIndia is misleading the nation. HAL has signed contracts worth Rs 26570.8 Cr (Between 2014 and 2018) and contracts worth Rs 73000 Cr are in the pipeline. Will @RahulGandhi apologise to the country from the floor of the house?", she wrote on Twitter.

BJP and Congress leaders sparred even as reports claimed that HAL is facing severe financial crunch and it has to take a loan of 1000 crore rupees to pay salaries to staff.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi has been slamming the Modi government claiming that it had preferred Anil Ambani's 10-day old firm over HAL for the Rafale fighter jet deal with Dassault, France.

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