NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi could be “hallucinating” that he had given a Mark Antony-like performance while he had actually lowered his credibility by concocting a conversation with French president Emmanuel Macron about a secrecy clause in the Rafale deal, senior minister Arun Jaitley said.

Jaitley said Rahul was further embarrassing former PM Manmohan Singh by insinuating that Singh is a witness to the alleged conversation. “One should never misquote a conversation with a head of the government. Not to be aware of the fact that UPA had signed the secrecy pact is not understandable. He now seeks to embarrass Manmohan Singh by implicitly insinuating that Singh was a witness to the conversation being wholly unaware that his own government had entered into a secrecy pact,” Jaitley wrote in a blog.

Saying that Rahul had shown an ignorance of facts, Jaitley said “...to insist on disclosure of financial details, which indirectly involves the disclosures of the strategic equipment on the aircraft, is to hurt national interest. Cost gives away a clue to weaponry in the aircraft.”

Jaitley said Rahul missed a great opportunity in the debate on the no-trust motion. “His lack of understanding is not only confined to basic issues but also to the niceties of protocol... once you misquote a head of the state, serious people will be reluctant to speak to you or speak in your presence.”

