PM has betrayed India: Gandhi on Hollande's reported remarks on Rafale deal

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi following former French President Francois Hollande's reported remarks on the Rafale deal, saying he has "betrayed" India.

His attack on Modi came after a French media report quoted Hollande as purportedly saying that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence as the partner for Dassault Aviation in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal.

"The PM personally negotiated & changed the #Rafale deal behind closed doors. Thanks to François Hollande, we now know he personally delivered a deal worth billions of dollars to a bankrupt Anil Ambani," Gandhi tweeted.

"The PM has betrayed India. He has dishonored the blood of our soldiers," he said.

Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after holding talks with the then French President Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.

The opposition has been accusing the government of choosing Reliance Defence over state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to benefit the private firm though it did not have any experience in the aerospace sector.