India has bought 36 Rafale jets from France (File)
In an apparent jibe at the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi who have levelled charges of crony capitalism in the Rafale jet deal, French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler has said that people should believe the facts, not the tweets.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Delhi, Mr Ziegler, when asked about the ongoing controversy over Rafale deal, said, "My very short and simple answer to that is, just look at the facts and not at the tweets."
Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the Modi government bought Rafale jets from French company Dassault at an inflated price. He has also alleged that on the government's insistence, Dassault awarded an offset contract to Reliance Defence, a company owned by industrialist Anil Ambani, overlooking state-owned HAL which has an expertise in the field of aircraft manufacturing.
The central government, the French government, Reliance and Dassault have denied the charges.
Mr Gandhi had attacked PM Modi on Twitter earlier this month over the deal. "The latest skeleton to tumble out of the Rafale cupboard is this: There's no guarantee of the French government backing the deal... Instead, our Prime Minister says there's a letter from France promising to be faithful! That's enough to call this a government-to-government deal," Mr Gandhi tweeted, adding #BikGayaChowkidar (the watchman has sold out).
The comment had come in the wake of the centre admitting before a Supreme Court bench that the Rafale deal hinges not on a sovereign guarantee -- which would require France to take full responsibility if the 36 fighter jets are not delivered -- but a "weaker" Letter of Comfort from the European country. The latter is only a written document assuring that an obligation will be eventually met.
With inputs from ANI
Disclaimer: NDTV has been sued for 10,000 crores by Anil Ambani's Reliance Group for its coverage of the Rafale deal