Virtually describing Congress President Rahul Gandhi a defence deal pusher or facilitator of defence offset contracts, BJP on Saturday sought to counter Congress on the Rafale controversy by alleging that Rahul was instrumental in getting an Scorpene submarine offset contracts to his company's partner in a deal which India had with France during the UPA regime.

In a counter-offensive on the eve of the 5th phase of polling, BJP rejected Rahul's claim that BJP was losing as per Congress party's "internal assessment" and stated that even Congress president was set to lose Amethi, his home constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley sought to draw Rahul's attention to the charges against him that his American associate who was a partner in his now-defunct London-based company had got an offset submarine contract and demanded an "structured response" from him and his party.

" How come the company through vicarious ways get the offset contract ?" , he asked addressing a press conference and posed a counter to what he called Congress President's wild and baseless allegation on a private Indian company getting Rafale offset contract signed between the BJP and the French Government. He said it was a serious charge.

Finance Minister cited a media report and gave more information that he said he had found out to take a swipe at Gandhi, saying it is story of a man who aspired to be a defence deal pusher and is now aspiring to be prime minister.

Detailing the allegations Jaitley said Rahul and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were directors in Backops Services Pvt. Ltd. Registered in India in 2002 and then a firm of a similar name was registered in the UK in which Rahul Gandhi and Ulrik Mcknight were directors.

It was an "influence for cash" company, Jaitley alleged, adding that Mcknight was married to a Congress leader's daughter and was part of Rahul Gandhi's "social gang".

Rahul and Mcknight registered the same London address, which Jaitley said was owned by Ajitabh Bachchan, brother of actor Amitabh Bachchan. In 2009 Rahul Gandhi left the UK firm and the Indian company wound up in 2010 but his partner remained associated with different firms, he said. Mcknight won an offset contract with a French firm awarded an Indian Navy deal to build submarines, he said.

Jaitley asked, "The question is how will you like now to be judged. You are judging others when there is no evidence. You distance yourself from a shady company launched by you and then your partner gets an offset contract."

"What was his (Rahul) own role? Did he want to start off as a defence dealer. It is a very serious subject and we will want top Congress leadership to respond at the earliest," he said. Taking a dig at the Congress president, he wondered if it would have been better had he remain in the defence business and not joined politics.

In another pincer attack by BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao termed Congress president's attacks on Prime Minister, outcome of frustration as the party is not only losing elections across the country in a big way but its "so-called bastion Amethi is also crumbling."

Addressing a press conference, Rao said the remarks by the Congress chief indicate "desperation because the party is seeing not only its fortunes crumble all over India but also seeing its so called bastions in Amethi and Rae Bareli crumbling".

"People of the country want Modiji back. Rahul Gandhi knows the reality and is scared of losing Amethi, and out of desperation is making such claims which are factually incorrect," he added.

"Congress is facing extinction in this election. Despite a series of lies uttered by Gandhi over the last several months, he simply has not been able to bring the party back to life and is literally on the death-bed in this election," Rao said.

Responding to questions by the Congress leaders as to why national security was an issue, he said it is the top issue for the BJP and dominant issue for the country unlike the Congress, during whose regime there have been several terror attacks.