Day after SC verdict on Rafale deal, Congress demands Prasad, Sitharaman's resignation

The Congress on Thursday demanded the resignation of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, accusing them of suppressing facts about the Rafale jet deal before the Supreme Court and for calling the documents "stolen".

The Congress demand came a day after the apex court agreed to hear review petitions on the Rafale deal on the basis of secret documents leaked to the media.

The court also dismissed the government's preliminary objection to treat the sensitive documents as evidence by claiming privilege over them.

"The order of the Supreme Court in the Rafale Review Petition case is a huge rebuff to the central government which raised the specious plea of 'stolen documents'. We demand the resignation of the Defence and Law ministers who authorised the plea of 'stolen documents'," senior Congress leader P Chidambaram tweeted.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the two Union ministers "have tried to suppress these documents by calling them stolen and so instructing the law officer to argue before the court."