New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi faced severe backlash on social media on Tuesday morning over the alleged Eurofighter Typhoon jets scam after it emerged that AgustaWestland scandal accused Christian Michel was lobbying for Eurofighter against Dassault Rafale as well.

#CongressEuroFighterScandal was one of the top trends on Twitter this morning. The grand old party came in for massive criticism from the BJP leaders and numerous Twitter users.

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According to an India Today report, two middlemen accused of getting kickbacks in the VVIP AgustaWestland chopper deal also stategised for Rafale's competitor Eurofighter.

In 2007, when India issued a formal request for proposal (RFP) to buy 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), France's Rafale was competing with five other fighter jets, the report said. By 2011, the competition was reduced to two, between Rafale and Eurofighter and in the end the former was chosen.

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The report stated that Michel and Italian middleman Guido Haschke worked to place Eurofighter in the "win zone".

Michel, a British national, is accused of paying kickbacks to secure the Rs 3,600 crore deal for 12 VVIP helicopters in 2007. The deal was scrapped in 2013 following the bribery allegations.

The Enforcement Directorate told the Patiala House Court that Michel had taken the name of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi during his interrogation.

The reference to "Mrs Gandhi", however, was made in what context is not yet clear. The ED also said that he had conversed in codes.

Twitter users who attacked Rahul Gandhi and his Congress with the hashtag on Tuesday insinuated that the president of the oldest party was making so much of noise over the Rafale deal at the behest of Dassault Aviation's competitor, the European Consortium that makes Eurofighter Typhoon.

The conspiracy theory is that the Narandra Modi government might scrap the deal out of frustration after which the Eurofighter will again stand a fighting chance to grab the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal!

Here are some of the reactions from Twitter on alleged ‘Eurofighter scandal’.