The Rafale is a French-made multirole jet fighter with a wide range of capabilities
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Modi government of causing over Rs 40,000 crore loss to the exchequer in the purchase of Rafale fighter jets from France.
In a tweet, Mr Gandhi also referred to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reported remarks that there was no point of talking about "our price" and "your price" when fighter planes were not bought during the term of the Congress-led UPA government.
"The UPA negotiates the RAFALE down to 526 Cr. per plane. But Modi ji pays 1,670 Cr. instead. Loss to exchequer, over 40,000 Cr. RM's response? We paid 'our' price. Who cares about 'their' price? Answer: The PEOPLE care," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
The Congress has been long alleging that the deal for 36 Rafale fighter planes with the French government was finalised by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a higher price than the previous deal for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft negotiated by the UPA government.