Rafale fighter jet deal will 'sink' Modi govt, says Ashok Gehlot

Jaipur: AICC general secretary and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, saying the Rafale fighter jet deal will "sink" the Modi government.

He claimed that Modi's popularity graph has come down and looking at the prime minister's previous speeches, the Congress does not even need to campaign because "things have been exposed now".

"The Rafale deal will sink the Modi government," Gehlot said at a press conference here.

He said the tender was "snatched" from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for manufacturing Rafale fighter jets and this was an "insult" to HAL employees.

"When we visited the HAL office, we saw tears rolling downs from employees. Former employees too said that this was an insult to HAL," he said.

He also attacked Modi on issues of price rise among others. "Inflation increased, rupee devalued and his promises fell flat. Compare the speeches of Modi made earlier and now, I assure that the Congress will not need to campaign in the country," Gehlot said.

He said despite Modi becoming the prime minister after his party got a huge mandate in 30 years, the promises were "not fulfilled".

On Modi's allegations about neglecting contributions of Subhas Chandra Bose, Gehlot said Bose is respected all over the country.

In a veiled attack on the Nehru-Gandhi clan, Modi Sunday alleged that the contribution of several great leaders such as Sardar Patel, B R Ambedkar and Bose to the country's freedom struggle was "deliberately" forgotten to glorify "one family" Gehlot said it took several years for the BJP to remember Bose after his sacrifice.

"They never named them but doing it now - this is our inheritance but they are capturing it," he said.