Rafale deal: Rahul a 'serial liar', says BJP

Under fire from the Congress on the controversial Rafale fighter aircraft deal, the BJP on Friday turned up the heat on Congress, describing its president Rahul Gandhi as a “serial liar” and “manufacturer of fake news”.

“We have, of late, been experiencing the activities of a serial liar. Only an issue-less man can repeat a lie again and again. Even if a lie is repeated 100 times, it can never substitute the truth,” said Cabinet Minister Piyush Goyal, who was fielded by the saffron party to counter the Congress accusations.

“His repeated lies and falsehood after falsehood will not change reality,” Goyal said, claiming that the BJP-led NDA government managed a better deal from the French side than what was negotiated in the UPA era.

“The government negotiated terms that are far better than what were agreed by the UPA in 2007 and 2012. We have got faster delivery, longer maintenance tenure, better availability of spare parts and much-needed defence capabilities,” he said.

On Thursday, Gandhi charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for guarding the interests of Anil Ambani, whose Reliance Defence partnered with Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation to meet its offset obligation. The critics of the deal argue that Reliance will share Lion's share of the Rs 30,000 crore offset kitty.

However, Dassault Chief Executive Officer Eric Trappier in an interview claimed that the Reliance-Dassault joint venture will only meet 10% of the French company's liabilities.

Citing Trappier's comments, Goyal said the French government and Dassault had exposed Gandhi's "fake news," and it was high time for him to stop lying. An "issue-less" party and its leadership bereft of truth were no substitute to Modi and his good governance, he said.