Punjab Congress president and Gurdaspur MP Sunil Jakhar was among six Congress leaders who have received a ‘cease and desist’ legal notice from the Reliance group led by Anil Ambani for speaking against the Rafale deal.
Terming it as a “serious issue”, Jakhar on Wednesday alleged the move to be “an effort to choke the voice of democracy”. At the same time, he made it clear that the Congress party would continue to fight the “nexus between capitalists and the BJP”.
Jakhar, retorting in his own unique way, made a paper-plane and claimed that his areroplane making skills were better than the industrialist’s.
“Have received a legal ‘Cease & Desist’ notice on #RafaleDeal from @reliancegroup…Mr. Anil Ambani, I reiterate, my aeroplane making skills (as demonstrated in lok Sabha) are better than yours,” tweeted Jakhar with his picture carrying a paper-plane.
Saying that he would stood by his statement, Jakhar said that he would fight against the irregularities in the Rafale deal till the last.
Besides Jakhar, similar notices have also been given to Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jaiveer Shergill, Ashok Chavan, Sanjay Nirupam, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, asking them to “cease and desist” from levelling allegations against Reliance Group of getting undue benefits from the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal.
The notices have been served amid a month-long offensive planned by the Congress on the Rafale deal under which the top party leaders will be holding press conferences and demonstrations across the country targeting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.
A series of press conferences have been lined by the Congress across the country from August 25 to September 6 on Rafale deal, besides district and state-level agitations starting September 7.
The cautionary ‘cease and desist’ notice has been served on behalf of three group firms — Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Defence and Reliance Aerostructure limited — for making “derogatory and defamatory statements in the press and electronic media in relation to the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft by India from France in a government-to-government contract”.
Reliance Group has denied the allegations relating to the deal under which France's Dassault is supplying the fighter jets and has entered into a joint venture with an Anil Ambani-led group firm to meet its offset requirement of the contract.
Ambani recently wrote to the Congress president Rahul Gandhi on the deal saying that his party has been "”misinformed, misdirected and misled” by “malicious vested interests and corporate rivals” on the issue.
Gandhi has been attacking the government for allegedly inking the deal at a much higher price than the one the previous UPA regime had negotiated to benefit "one businessman".
“I have received the notice asking me to refrain from making allegations on the Rafale deal…It is a matter of serious national security for our party and the legal notice is the result of a prevailing nexus between the BJP and the corporate world,” said Jakhar while addressing the media after receiving the notice.
Jakhar, who had targeted the Centre on the issue in the Parliament, said: “It is a dark day for the democracy. An industrialist serving legal notice to an elected representative is a serious issue.”
Saying that he has also received the notice threatening with legal consequences if he speaks on Rafale deal, another Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said: “My reply — I am a Congress soldier, a proud Punjabi who does not get scared with such notices. A taxpayer of this country deserves to know why they paid extra Rs 42,000 crore.”
“The fact that Anil Ambani sent us a notice exposes that there is something fishy in the Rafale deal,” he added.