"PM Modi’s Personal Culpability In the Rafale Scam"

NEW DELHIi: In a second hard-hitting press conference on Tuesday, Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha (both former BJP ministers) and senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan once again took aim at the Rafale deal, putting Prime Minister Narendra Modi squarely on the mat for the “web of lies” being spread.

In a press note, the three questioned how the old deal, which had been in the making for over a year, was 'junked' and a new deal was concluded within two days.

They also alleged that the new deal flouted the defence procurement procedure as the Defence Acquisition Council was not in the loop. The note alleged that Modi had 'usurped the authority of the Services HeadQuarters' and the Categorisation Committee in determining how many aircraft were required and under what category the procurement would proceed.

The press note also accused Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of spreading “falsehoods” in their statements “ solely to deflect attention from its culpability in the scandalous manner in which Reliance Defence was chosen as an Offset Partner and the HAL was kicked out as a result of the decision of the Prime Minister himself.”