Mamata accuses BJP of trying to 'cover up' Rafale

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused the BJP of trying to "cover up" and divert attention from issues like the Rafale deal.

"The price of petrol, diesel, and gas is increasing every day. In the name of demonetization, they have siphoned off several crores. The party (BJP) is running on several crores of rupees. New information about the Rafale deal is emerging every day," Banerjee said.

Banerjee is presently in Italy to invite business to the state. She was speaking to city journalists accompanying her in the trip.

She added that in order to "cover up" all these issues, the BJP is trying to divert attention to other matters.

"But by doing this, they will not be able to stop our protests," she said in the interaction aired by local TV channels.

She also alleged that BJP and RSS leaders were being brought in from other states to West Bengal to "create a problem" in different districts.

A media report in France on Friday quoted former French president Francois Hollande as purportedly saying that the Indian government proposed businessman Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as the partner for Dassault Aviation in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal.

The French government, however, said it was in no manner involved in the choice of Indian industrial partners for the Rafale fighter jet deal, asserting that French companies have full freedom to select Indian firms for the contract.