SC established falsity of wild allegations: Anil Ambani welcomes Rafale deal verdict

As Anil Ambani welcomed the SC judgement, BJP president Amit Shah said that the judgement exposed the “campaign of misinformation spearheaded by Congress President for political gains”

Shortly after the Supreme Court dismissed petitions seeking investigation into Rafale fighter jets deal, Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani issued a statement, terming the allegations levelled against him as “baseless and politically-motivated”.

Welcoming the decision of the Supreme Court to dismiss all PILs, Ambani said that the top court order established the “complete falsity of the wild, baseless and politically motivated allegations” levelled against Reliance Group and him personally.

“I welcome the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court today, summarily dismissing all PILs filed on the Rafale contracts and conclusively establishing the complete falsity of the wild, baseless and politically-motivated allegations levelled against Reliance Group and me personally,” read the statement.

The statement by Reliance Group chairman further said that the company remained “committed to India’s national security” and government initiatives like Make in India and Skill India.

“We remain committed to India's national security and to making our humble contribution towards the 'Make in India' and 'Skill India' policies of the Government in the critical area of defence, including our offset partnership agreement with our valued partner, Dassault Aviation of France,” the statement further read.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government also launched a scathing counter-attack on the Congress party, citing the Supreme Court verdict, in the Rajya Sabha.

As the Upper House of Parliament convened, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought a debate on the Rafale issue, even as the Congress-led opposition reiterated the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the same.

Addressing mediapersons, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said that there were several issues that the top court did not get into, and hence there was requirement of a JPC to go through all files and documents related to the deal.

However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah took to Twitter to blunt the Congress attack, claiming that the judgement exposed the “campaign of misinformation spearheaded by Congress President (Rahul Gandhi) for political gains”.

Shah tweeted, “Truth always triumphs! Court’s judgment on the Rafale deal exposes the campaign of misinformation spearheaded by Congress President for political gains. The court didn’t find anything wrong with the process nor did it find any commercial favouritism in the deal.”

“On the contrary SC held that govt had no role in selecting offset partners & found no merit in the demand for a probe based on mere perception of individuals. It therefore raises obvious questions on the motive of those working to discredit the deal, which is important for India,” he added.