Rahul terms Sitharaman 'Rafale Minister', demands resignation

Terming Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the "Rafale Minister", Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday demanded her resignation after former HAL chief T. Suvarna Raju refuted her claims that the state-owned aerospace and defence company did not have the capability to build the fighter jets.

"The RM (Rafale Minister) tasked with defending corruption has been caught lying again. The former HAL chief, T.S. Raju, has nailed her lie, that HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) didn't have the capability to build the Rafale," Gandhi said. 

"Her position is untenable and she must resign" he said.

Gandhi's comment came amid a war of words between the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and the Congress, after Sitharaman during an interview to a news channel claimed that the Bengaluru headquartered company governed under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence was not competent enough to produce the aircraft.