"Friends, ex-defence minister Manohar Parrikar clearly told me that he has nothing to do with the new Rafale deal that was orchestrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to benefit Anil Ambani," Rahul Gandhi was quoted as telling his party workers in Kochi on Tuesday. This gave rise to a fresh spate of reports on the defence deal.

Turns out that the Congress chief's remarks have been denied by Parrikar, who is the Goa chief minister. In an open statement issued on Wednesday, Parrikar said, "I feel let down that you (Rahul) have used this visit for your petty political gains. In the 5 minutes you spent with me, neither did you mention anything about Rafale, now did we discuss anything related to it".

This clarification will now be used by the BJP to show Rahul as a liar.