Rebutting Congress' charges against the Narendra Modi government over the Rafale deal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday held the erstwhile UPA regime responsible for Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) being overlooked for the jet deal. "All these attributes that are being put to us about HAL...it's not for us but the UPA to answer as to why the agreement between Dassault and HAL did not happen.

"The UPA government could have done anything to strengthen HAL's offer, to make sure its terms were appealing enough for Dassault, they could have done everything to ensure the terms were appealing enough for Dassault to conclude the agreement," Sitharaman said during a media interaction here. "This entire issue of HAL not being chosen happened during their (UPA) time, so all these questions that they are now directing at us should actually go to them. You have not taken care of HAL, you have not made the terms appealing enough for the HAL to successfully bid with Dassault," she said.