New Delhi, Oct 1: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday backtracked on his support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal. Sharad Pawar said he never supported PM Modi on Rafale deal and sought a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe in alleged irregularities in purchase of fighter jets from France.

“Tell the price of Rafale (deal). The price of (one) Rafale jet was Rs 650 crore (in the deal agreed by UPA in 2013). Modi bought it for Rs 1600 crore. Appoint a JPC, give documents,” Pawar said while addressing a public gathering in Bheed district of central Maharashtra. The NCP chief added he would never support PM Modi, reported News18.

The NCP suffered a jolt last week when one of its founding leaders, Tariq Anwar, quit the party and the Lok Sabha expressing disagreement with Pawar who he said gave a clean chit to PM Modi in the Rafale deal. One of the closest confidants of Pawar, Anwar, who hails from Bihar, has been a member of the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha for nearly four decades.

Speaking to a news channel, Pawar had said that people “do not have doubts” over PM Modi’s intentions (in the Rafale deal). “I don’t think people have doubts about Modi’s intentions personally,” Pawar had said. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been demanding the central government to launch a JPC probe into Rafale deal.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 01, 2018 07:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).