Rafale Scam: Rahul Gandhi Says Modi Govt Threatens Journalists. India Times Deletes Article
The Congress president Rahul Gandhi called Modi the “supreme leader” – the term used for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
By Rakesh Raman
Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed today that the journalists covering the Rafale scam committed by the Narendra Modi government are being threatened.
The Congress president called Modi the “supreme leader” – the term used for North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and informed that the supreme leader’s minions are now sending threatening messages to journalists reporting on the Rafale scam asking them to “back off or else…”.
“I am really proud of the few brave press people who still have the guts to defend the truth and stand up to Mr 56 (a nickname given to PM Modi),” Rahul Gandhi said in his ambiguous tweet which did not tell the names of the journalists or the people who are issuing threats.
Supreme leader’s minions are now sending threatening messages to journalists reporting on the #RafaleScam asking them to “back off or else…”.
I’m really proud of the few brave press people who still have the guts to defend the truth and stand up to Mr 56.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 30, 2018
Meanwhile, India Times – an online news property of the Times Group – had published a story Sunday claiming that a BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has called the Rafale deal corrupt.
The story added that Swamy has threatened to go to court against the deal if the (Modi) government did not pay heed to his warning. According to the India Times story, Swamy said that no country is buying Rafale and countries which had signed the MoUs for Rafale have scrapped it.
We published a story carrying a quote of @Swamy39 on the Rafael Deal. The story was based on an agency copy from 2015. Since the quote has been denied by #SubramanianSwamy & The Agency, we are taking the story down.We apologise to @Swamy39 & our readers for this inadvertent error
— Indiatimes (@indiatimes) July 30, 2018
When Swamy threatened to sue India Times for misquoting him, the news site deleted the story. But you can click here to read the story that was deleted.
Although the webpage that carried the story displays “missing page” message, its hyperlink still states “BJP Leader Subramanian Swamy Calls Rafale Deal ‘Corrupt’, Threatens To Go To Court”.
[ News18 Deleted Amit Shah Bank Scam Story. But You Can Still Read It. ]
It appears that India Times story used Swamy’s statement given in 2015 about Rafale deal when he was quoted saying that “Rafale deal is ‘corrupt’ and it will bring bad name to the party (BJP).”
Some India Times is quoting me that I said today the Rafaela’s deal is “corrupt” and that I will go to court against it. Rubbish. It is totally fake news probably put out by paid India Times
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) July 29, 2018
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had brought up the issue of corruption in Rafale deal when he was discussing the no-confidence motion against the Modi government in Parliament.
Attacking the Modi government for its massive corruption, the Congress president had said that Modi who promised to be a Chowkidar (guard of government assets) has become a Bhagidaar (partner in corruption).
He has alleged that PM Modi is personally involved in the deal in which kickbacks worth thousands of crores of rupees have been paid. Earlier, he had ridiculed Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks that her government will not disclose the details of the Rafale deal, which is stated to be worth Rs 130,000 crore (approximately USD $20 billion).
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
Photo courtesy: Congress
