Enough proof now to prosecute PM Modi, says Rahul as govt cites ‘stolen’ Rafale files in SC

New Delhi: Pointing to the Centre’s claim in the Supreme Court that documents relating to the Rafale deal had been “stolen” from the Defence Ministry, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said there was enough evidence to prosecute Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the case.
Leading the Congress’ charge against the government over the multi-crore jet deal, Gandhi said Attorney General KK Venugopal’s assertion in the top court proved there was “destruction of evidence” and an “obvious cover-up”.
“There is now enough evidence to prosecute the PM in the Rafale scam. The trail of corruption begins and ends with him. That crucial Rafale files incriminating him are now reported “stolen” by the government, is destruction of evidence and an obvious coverup,” he tweeted.
Gandhi’s fresh salvo at PM Modi over the Rafale case came on a day the Centre told the apex court that documents pertaining to the deal had been stolen from the Defence Ministry and the papers relied on by the petitioners were marked “secret” and, therefore, in violation of the Official Secrets Act.
The Attorney General further said although an internal probe was conducted, an FIR into the case had not been registered. The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was hearing a batch of petitions seeking a review of its December 14 verdict dismissing a court-monitored investigation into the deal.
Earlier in the day, Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged corruption and malfeasance in the Rafale deal and said the time had come to lodge an FIR against PM Modi. “It is now crystal clear that blatant and massive corruption has taken place in the Rafale deal. It is undoubtedly established that Modi misused his office as Prime Minister to grant undue benefit to Dassault Aviation and caused a loss to the public exchequer,” Surjewala said.