Rafale Deal: Nirmala Sitharaman admits to perception problem for Modi Govt

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has at last admitted that the Narendra Modi Government is losing ground in the messy Rafale fighter het deal, which has turned into an all-out slugfest between the BJP and the main Opposition party, Congress. Reacting to the Congress charge of corruption in the Rafale deal, Sitharaman on Monday, September 24 admitted that there was “need to fight the perception battle”.

Saying she would lead a nationwide campaign to “fight the perception battle”, with press conferences across the country, Sitharaman said that many BJP leaders would also travel across the country in this regard.

The Defence Minister’s statement clearly betrays growing nervousness within the Modi government top leadership over the impact of Congress’ accusations of corruption, and now feels that the government is losing the “perception battle’’ in Rafale deal.

Modi government is busy in firefighting the charge ever since former French President Francois Hollande made the statement that the Indian government had suggested Anil Ambani’s firm as the vendor for manufacturing the high-end aircraft in India.

High-profile Modi cabinet ministers have been holding press conferences to deny the charge. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley even hinted at some sort of tacit understanding between the Congress President and the former French President. Sitharaman’s statement today is a part of the same nervous exercise by the Modi Govt to clear growing doubts in public minds over the dubious Rafale deal.

But, as admitted by the Defence Minister herself, the BJP is losing the “perception battle” fast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stoic silence on the issue has further compounded peoples’ doubts about the Rafale deal.

Now the nervous BJP has planned to go across the country holding press conferences on dishing out the government version in the deal that is becoming a major embarrassment for the ruling party.

BJP worries have been further compounded by the fact that assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and now Telangana are around the corner. The Congress is gearing up to make the controversial Rafale deal a major corruption issue in the assembly elections. The BJP is already suffering from anti-incumbency in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The taint of corruption in the Rafale deal may destroy BJP’s electoral chances altogether.