This Article is From Jan 30, 2019

"Rahul Gandhi Tweeted On Rafale Audio Tapes As He Was In Goa": Minister

"For us, we want the issue to be over. He wants the issue to be alive. He is doing what he has to do," Vijai Sardesai told reporters when asked to respond to Mr Gandhi's tweet on Monday.

'Rahul Gandhi Tweeted On Rafale Audio Tapes As He Was In Goa': Minister

Rahul Gandhi also met Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday. (File)

Panaji:

Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted about the Rafale audio tape and Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's possession of "explosive Rafale secrets" on Monday because he was in Goa and wanted to keep the issue alive, Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai said on Tuesday.

"For us, we want the issue to be over. He wants the issue to be alive. He is doing what he has to do," Mr Sardesai told reporters when asked to respond to Mr Gandhi's tweet on Monday.

Mr Sardesai also said that perhaps because Mr Gandhi was in Goa, he remembered about the controversy and so tweeted about it.

Rahul Gandhi was on a private visit to Goa with his mother Sonia Gandhi, also a former Congress President.

An audio clip featuring Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and a local journalist -- where the former claimed that Parrikar in a December 2018 cabinet meeting admitted to possessing a stash of files related to the Rafale deal -- rocked Parliament this month.

Both Mr Rane and Mr Parrikar have said that the tape was doctored. However no formal probe has been launched by the police into the alleged doctoring despite a written request by Mr Rane to the Chief Minister.

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