‘What Do You Call Sonia Led NAC’s Interference In Earlier PMO?’: Sitharaman Rebuts Rahul’s Latest Rafale Allegation

Rejecting Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s new allegation in the multi-billion dollar Rafale Deal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (8 February) reminded the grand old party of India about the Sonia Gandhi led National Advisory Council’s interference in the then Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), reports ANI.

"A newspaper published a file noting written by Defence Secretary. If a newspaper publishes a noting, then the ethics of journalism will demand that the newspaper publishes the then Defence Minister's reply as well," Sitharaman stated.

She then explained that the defence minister at the time Manohar Parrikar had given his reply to the note, stating ‘remain calm, nothing to worry everything is going alright’.

Further, she questioned the intervention of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) in the functioning of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) during the previous government.

"Then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar ji replied to that MoD (Ministry of Defence) note saying 'remain calm, nothing to worry, everything is going alright.' Now, what do you call the NAC led by Sonia Gandhi's interference in earlier PMO? What was that," the Defence Minister was quoted in the report as saying.

In response to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s comments rubbishing the Congress leadership’s claims on the Rafale deal while slamming a media report on the issue, the Lok Sabha witnessed chaotic scenes with a vocal outcry from the opposition, reports Business Standard.

A number of opposition lawmakers made their own comments on the issue, kicking off an uproar in the parliament.

Leaders from the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) demanded an investigaiton by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and hit out at the prime minister.

"The Modi-Shah duo is destroying defence backbone of the country,” said Trinamool MP Saugata Roy.

Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge also repeated the demand for a JPC probe and stated that there was no need for any further explanations from the prime minister.