Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the remark with reference to the Bofors case – a major weapons-contract political scandal that marred the Congress government under Rajiv Gandhi in 1980
Pratapgarh: Launching a scathing attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a rally in Uttar Pradesh, said that his father’s life ended as ''Bhrashtachari No 1''.
"Your father [Rajiv Gandhi] was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as ''Bhrashtachari No 1,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi made the remark with reference to the Bofors case – a major weapons-contract political scandal that marred the Congress government under Rajiv Gandhi in 1980.
Not only Rajiv’s name came up, but several other members of the Indian and Swedish governments were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB. It is also believed that the Bofors scam triggered the downfall of Rajiv Gandhi as a politician.
Also read: From AgustaWestland scam to Bofors scam, long history of defence frauds under Congress regimes
For acquiring 410 Bofors guns from Sweden, it was alleged that over Rs 65 crore was paid as kickbacks by the company to bag the deal. The scam was unearthed during the tenure of VP Singh as defence minister under Rajiv Gandhi and resulted in his ouster later on.
The former Prime Minister was assassinated in 1991.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to hit out at Modi. The Congress chief said, "Modi Ji, the battle is over. Your Karma awaits you. Projecting your inner beliefs about yourself onto my father won’t protect you. All my love and a huge hug. Rahul. "
Modi Ji,
The battle is over. Your Karma awaits you. Projecting your inner beliefs about yourself onto my father won’t protect you.
All my love and a huge hug.
Rahul
Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram also condemned Modi’s remark by saying, “Mr. Modi has crossed all limits of propriety and decency by defaming a man (Rajiv Gandhi) who died in 1991.”
In the Pratapgarh rally, PM Modi also criticised the opposition parties for trying to tarnish his image during their campaigns for the Lok Sabha elections.
"By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country," he said.
The Prime Minister further added, "The naamdaar (dynast) must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family.”
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