Rahul, Congress should apologise to PM Modi after SC gives clean chit on Rafale deal: BJP

The BJP on Friday demanded an apology from the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi for levying allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Rafale fighter jet deal, in which the Supreme Court has given the government a clean chit.

The apex court dismissed all the petitions seeking a direction to the CBI to register an FIR for alleged irregularities in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France and said there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the multi-billion dollar defense deal.

Welcoming the judgement, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said,"Every deal is not Bofors deal."

"It is the culture and tradition of Congress and its top leadership to mint money from such deals on the cost of country's national security," he said.

Rahul Gandhi and the Congress should apologise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making false allegations against him and questioning his credibility, he added.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said there is a necessity for fighter aircraft and the country cannot remain without the jets.

The CJI, who read out the judgement for the three-judge bench, said no reasons were found to interfere in the procurement process for the fighter jets.

The verdict was pronounced on a batch of pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into deal.