Rafale an open and shut case, PM Modi won't survive an inquiry: Rahul

New Delhi: In yet another attack directed at the Centre over the Rafale jet deal, Rahul Gandhi said on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi won't remain in office if an inquiry is started to look into allegations of mis-deed.

Rahul, who has previously said that the Modi government had helped Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence secure a deal from Dassault Aviation to manufacture Rafale jets in India, said the entire deal reeked of corruption. "If an inquiry starts on this, Mr Modi is not going to survive it. Guaranteed. One, because of corruption. Two, because it's very clear who the decision maker was. It was Narendra Modi and it was a deal done by Narendra Modi to give Anil Ambani Rs 3,0000 Cr," the Congress president said during a press conference. "Rafale is an open and shut case. It is simply a PM Modi-Anil Ambani partnership."

Highlighting Dassault CEO's justification that the contract had been given to Reliance Defence because it had land, Rahul hinted that the land was never there till the deal was struck. "The Dassault CEO had said the reason HAL wasn't given the contract was because Anil Ambani had land. Now it turns out that the land that Anil Ambani had was purchased by money given by Dassault," he said.

(Also read: SC asks Centre to submit Rafale jet deal price details in 10 days to court)

The crux of Rahul's charges - apart from claiming that the government had inked a deal for the jets at an inflated price - is about Reliance Defence getting the contract to manufacture the jets in India despite having no prior experience. He has said the Indian government arm-twisted Dassault into giving the contract to Ambani.

It is a charge that the government has vehemently denied.

While Ambani has filed defamation suits against Congress leaders, the BJP government has repeatedly maintained that it had no role to play in who was chosen as an India partner by Dassault. In September, the Defence Ministry had issued a statement in which it had said unnecessary controversies were being created.

Meanwhile, Dassault Aviation has said it will begin delivering the jets to India by 2019.