When Rahul Gandhi alleged in Lok Sabha on Friday that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied to the nation on the Rafale fighter jet deal with France, immediately came a statement from France and a hard takedown from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today, keeping up the attack, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Rahul Gandhi concocted his conversation with President Emmanuel Macron.
"Rahul Gandhi, by concocting a conversation with President Macron, has lowered his own credibility and seriously hurt the image of an Indian politician before the world at large," Arun Jaitley wrote in a blog today.
"One should never misquote a conversation with a Head of Government or a Head of State. You do it once, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence," Mr Jaitley added.
Rahul Gandhi, speaking in parliament during the debate on the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had contended that Emmanuel Macron had told him that no agreement signed by the two countries stopped India from disclosing the Rafale jet's pricing. Mr Gandhi had met President Macron during his March visit to the country.