The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to hold 70 press conferences across 70 cities later in the day. The primary agenda of this move is to debunk the Rafale myth. This is also to expose the alleged lies of Rahul Gandhi post the Supreme Court verdict. The alleged scam in the Rafale has been raked up by Rahul Gandhi since the last few elections. While the Congress President may have changed the exact value of the alleged scam from one rally to another, he has always maintained that there a was a huge scam in Rafale. He has accused PM Modi of favouring a particular industrialist over Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). As they say, “Repeat a lie a thousand times, and it becomes the truth,”. But only until the real truth comes out.
The Supreme Court Verdict
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi observed that there was nothing wrong in the Rafale deal. The Supreme Court dismissed all PILs that were filed seeking court-monitored inquiry into the same. In a hard-hitting statement, the observation mentioned, “Perception of individuals cannot be the basis of roving inquiry by the court.” One would expect the Rafale issue to be a thing of the past and hoping that the opposition parties focus on real issues post the verdict. However, unfortunately, this is not the case. Rahul Gandhi further wants a JPC to conduct an inquiry into Rafale deal. The fact that Congress showed utmost faith in Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi after his public press conference not so long ago, is worth noting.
Lost Elections
BJP has not done a great job, rather not even a decent job in countering the Rafale narrative. The political pundits and analysts across the nation would agree to that. However, Rahul Gandhi and opposition leaders have been relentlessly targeting the Modi government over this deal. It has become one of the most discussed issues during the election campaigns. Evidently, the loss of BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh can be because of several factors such as anti-incumbency, SC/ST Ordinance, among many other things. But it was quite clear that Rafale controversy did damage the corruption-free governance narrative of the ruling party. Scam or not, the opposition parties were able to garner electoral gains and stage a comeback.
Too little, Too Late
Well, with BJP on course to address 70 press conferences across the country, this certainly cannot be too little. Is it too late? Perhaps not, since 2019 elections are still a few months away. BJP is conducting this press conferences today. However, Congress had deployed 50 leaders to do 100 press conferences to expose the alleged Rafale scam. However, post the SC verdict on Rafale, the chickens may come home to roost for the Congress party.
The BJP in the press conferences today is likely to expose the hollow lies of opposition parties on the Rafale deal. Apart from “plotting conspiracy” against the Prime Minister, Congress party’s action over Rafale may be seen as jeopardising the security of our country. Only if BJP is able to put the Rafale lies to rest (unlikely), things might move in a different direction before 2019. Thus, the ruling party may be on the front foot again.
Where Are These Happening
The BJP Press Conferences will be held across all major cities including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Surat, Shimla, Shillong, among other places. Top leaders such as Ravi Shankar Prasad, JP Nadda, Devendra Fadnavis, Yogi Adiytanath, Manohar Lal Khattar, Biplab Deb and others will hold the press conferences in all these cities. Will this blitzkrieg counter-attack put the Rafale scam allegations to bed?
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