Manohar Parrikar knows a lot about Rafale deal: Randeep Singh Surjewala

Panaji: Former Defence Minister and current Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is suffering from pancreatic cancer, knows a “whole lot of things” about the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said on Saturday.

Asked to substantiate an allegation levelled by state Congress President Girish Chodankar that the BJP national leadership had not been able to replace the ailing Parrikar as CM because the latter knew “dirty secrets” about the Rafale deal, Surjewala said as the Defence Minister when the deal was being worked out, Parrikar “knows a whole lot of things”. “He (Parrikar) had refused to endorse the completely conspiratorial decision to enrich Dassault Aviation at the cost of state exchequer,” he said, adding: “Now that the facts are out in the open, questions should be asked to Parrikar and Narendra Modi.” The Congress has been demanding the resignation of Parrikar as the Chief Minister on account of his ill health.

Chodankar has repeatedly claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s national President Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi were unable to get Parrikar to resign, as the former Defence Minister knew several secrets linked to the Rafale deal. Surjewala said Parrikar, as well as the Defence Acquisition Council, which comprises the Defence Minister and the three service chiefs, had refused to endorse the increase in the benchmark price for the fighter aircraft from 5.2 billion euros to 9.2 billion euros, but Modi had powered through with the deal on his own. (IANS)

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