Raksha Mantri asked French journalists to leave briefing on Rafale deal

Delhi media circles are abuzz with news that two French journalists were asked to leave an off-the-record briefing by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Monday, September 24. The Raksha Mantri has called an off-the-record briefing at around 3 pm at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in Delhi on the Rafale issue, but upon learning that the French journalists were present, she reportedly asked them to leave.

"As many as 30 journalists attended the briefing but when they saw two foreign journalists, they asked them to leave," said a senior journalist who attended the briefing. The Raksha Mantri denying entry to two French journalists betrays the Modi Government’s nervousness vis-à-vis the Rafale deal controversy, quipped the journalist.

Although the identity of the journalists could not be identified, it's being said that both work for Bloomberg.

Criticising Congress President Rahul Gandhi for "misrepresentation of the facts" in her off-the-record briefing, Sitharaman told media persons that the Rafale issue has "international dimensions."

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