Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday rejected allegation of corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal while asserting that a lie repeated again and again could not become truth.

“The Congress should understand that a lie spoken many a time cannot turn into truth. We have been ready for a discussion from the very first day. But why is the opposition party running away ,” Singh said in the Lok Sabha.

Raising the issue, Kharge reiterated his party’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the deal alleging that it was one of the biggest “scams” of the country.

He was responding to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s accusations on the issue during Zero Hour amid protests and slogan-shouting by opposition members, including those of the Congress, AIADMK and the TDP on different issues.He claimed that the Rafale fighter jets had been purchased at a price three times higher than the UPA government’s deal.

“Why the government is not disclosing the price even as the French President has said it could be disclosed?” he aasked.Not satisfied with the government’s response, the Congress members continued with their protest.