"Bofors Sank Congress, Rafale Will Bring PM Modi Back": Defence Minister

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in an over two-hour reply in parliament to an acrimonious debate on the Rafale jet deal, accused the Congress of scrapping an earlier deal for 126 jets when it was in power because it "didn't get the money" and ignored national security in favour of its "treasury security". Pulling no punches, the minister referred to the Bofors scandal that exploded when Rajiv Gandhi - the father of Congress president Rahul Gandhi - was prime minister in 1986 and said: "Bofors was a scam, Rafale is not. It is a decision in the national interest. They lost an election because of Bofors. Rafale will bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi back to power."