Arun Jaitley accuses Rahul Gandhi of concocting a meet with Emmanuel Macron

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has accused Congress President Rahul Gandhi having concocted his conversation with President Emmanuel Macron. Rahul Gandhi alleged in Lok Sabha on Friday that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied to the nation on the Rafale fighter jet deal with France, however his comment was struck down immediately when a statement came from France and a hard takedown from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He further accused Rahul Gandhi for harming the image of Indian politicians on the world stage.

“Rahul Gandhi, by concocting a conversation with President Macron, has lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large,” Arun Jaitley wrote in his blog today. “One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government or a Head of State. You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence,” Mr Jaitley added.

Rahul Gandhi, stated that Emmanuel Macron had told him that no agreement signed by the two countries stopped India from disclosing the Rafale jet’s pricing. Mr Gandhi had met President Macron during his March visit to the country. The Congress claims that the price of the fighter jets is higher than what was finalised by the United Progressive Alliance government which had negotiated a deal for 126 aircrafts. Mr Gandhi alleged that the deal was sealed at a higher price at a loss to the taxman to favour “a businessman”.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who had initially agreed to give the details, had later backtracked, after officials told her that the price was “classified information”. After Rahul Gandhi’s speech, the French foreign ministry put out a statement on the security pact but did not refer to the discussions between Mr Gandhi and President Macron during his visit this year. The statement said there was a 2008 agreement on classified information “that could impact security and operational capabilities” of the defence equipment of India or France. The French government’s statement did not, however, spell out if the purchase price of the fighter jets was also classified information under this pact.

“Let him reject,” Mr Gandhi said, asked about the rejoinder from France. “I was not alone. Dr Manmohan Singh and Anand Sharma were also present at the meeting,” he told reporters yesterday. Mr Jaitley today said Mr Gandhi now seeks to embarrass Dr Singh by insinuating that he “was a witness to the conversation being wholly unaware that his own Government had entered into the secrecy pact.” Jaitley, further hit back at Gandhi by quoting speeches written by Jawaharlal Nehru.

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“Hallucinations can give momentary pleasure to a person. Therefore, to hallucinate after an embarrassing performance that he has won future election or to hallucinate that he is the reincarnation of Mark Antony being complemented by friends and foes alike, may give him self-satisfaction but for serious observers, it is more than just self-praise – in fact a serious problem. Even in dynasties, many successors remind you of the virtues of their predecessors. Yesterday I reread two of Panditji’s (Jawaharlal Nehru) legendary speeches – ‘Tryst with Destiny’ and ‘Light has gone out of Lives’.”

(Excerpts from Arun Jaitley’s Blog)