Rajnath slams Congress for levelling allegations of corruption in Rafale deal

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Mar 24 (ANI): Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday slammed Congress for levelling allegations of corruption in the Rafale jet deal and accused it of neglecting the modernisation of the armed forces for 30 years.
Addressing a gathering of party workers in Lucknow, he said,"Congress dared to level allegations against us in the Rafale deal. Rafale is a fighter plane with the capability to attack neighbours while remaining in our own territory. You (Congress) could not dare to buy the next generation fighter jets for 30 years and when we are procuring them, you are levelling allegations against us."
He also accused the previous government of being neck-deep in corruption.
"The world knows that from 2004-14, Congress faced serious allegations of corruption. But no one can level allegations of corruption against us. If the fighter plane was there, then I think our jawans would not have had the need to cross the border," Singh said and asserted that Congress wants to gather the support of the public by creating doubts in their mind.
He said that whatever he is doing in Lucknow is to fulfil the dreams of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
"Whatever I am doing in Lucknow is to fulfil the dreams of Vajpayee. We want Lucknow to become a world-class city. There has been an investment of Rs 24,000 crore till now (in Lucknow). I will try to make it Rs 50,000 crore in the next five years," Singh, the BJP candidate from Lucknow, said.
The Union Minister also slammed Congress for questioning the air-strikes in Pakistan's Balakot.
"They say they also conducted (military) strikes. Why didn't you praise the armed forces? Whom you wanted to give credit to? When we praise the armed forces, they say we are politicising. They asked for the number of casualties in the air strikes. Pakistan was in trouble, why were you (Congress) troubled? If nothing at all happened, do you think Pakistan would have been troubled so much? Brave warriors do not count dead bodies" he said.
Singh also rejected the allegation by the opposition parties to portray BJP as a party that creates communal divide.
"For the first time, India was invited by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Our Foreign Minister was invited and she delivered her speech," he said.
The Union Minister also lauded the Narendra Modi government for doing a "charismatic job".
"We are not day-dreaming when we say India is changing," he said listing the schemes launched by the Modi government for the benefit of the people.
"We should feel proud of what our government has been able to achieve in the last five years," he told the party workers. (ANI)