Congress risking national security by 'peddling untruth' on Rafale: FM

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday accused the Congress of "peddling untruth" on the Rafale aircraft deal, saying the "false campaign" by the Opposition party and its leader Rahul Gandhi is seriously compromising national security. In a Facebook blog, he posed 15 questions to Gandhi and said the deal the NDA government entered into with France on April 10, 2015, for purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets was on "better" terms than the one agreed to by the UPA government in 2007.

"I am asking these questions as his misadventure is impairing national interest and I hope Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party would respond immediately," he wrote. " Congress party's false campaign launched on Rafale aircraft deal based on peddled untruth has been casting a cloud on the Inter-governmental agreement & seriously compromising national security," he said.

Stating that the Rafale controversy is based on "complete falsehood", he said that it is expected from national political parties and their responsible leaders to keep themselves informed of the basic facts before they enter a public discourse on defence transactions. Jaitley said that the Congress and Gandhi are guilty on three counts — delaying the deal by over a decade compromising national security, spreading falsehood on pricing and procedure, and further delaying the defence procurement by raising these issues.