CHANDIGARH, AUGUST 25: Blaming the BJP led Central Government for jeopardizing the vital security concerns of the country, senior congress leader and Delhi Pradesh Congress president Ajay Maken on Saturday launched a piercing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the magnitude of the Rafale scam was unprecedented in the history of the country.
The present regime was playing with the country’s internal security scenario by indulging in an unforgivable game of compromising national interests, the repercussions of which would be grave, Maken said adding that a huge scam was brewing in the procurement of fighter aircraft for Indian Air Force.
Addressing a joint press conference with Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Sunil Jakhar here at Punjab Bhawan this afternoon, Maken stated that in UPA tenure in August 2007, after the Indian Air Force (IAF) raised the requirement for a Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), a request for proposal (RFP) for procuring 126 Medium Role Combat Aircraft for the airforce was issued, adding that 18 of these aircraft were to come in a flyaway condition while there was to be a transfer of technology for 108 aircrafts to be made in India by HAL, Bengaluru.
The Modi government was now only procuring 36 fighter jets in comparison to 126 which the UPA Congress government intended, and that too at a much higher cost burdening the common man’s pocket. He said that the fighter jet, whose price the UPA government had negotiated at Rs 526.10 crore only, was now being bought by the Modi government for a whopping Rs 1670 crore each.
Targeting the Prime Minister for promoting a culture of crony capitalism by awarding a related Offset-Contract worth Rs. 30,000 Crores to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Ltd, which he said was just formed 12 days before Modi announced the deal with France on 10th April, 2015, Maken pointed out had this contract been retained with HAL as was the case originally, the nation would have benefitted from the transfer of technology into India besides many jobs would have been created.
Lashing out at the Central Government for delaying the appointment of Lokpal, Maken said that Modi government was doing this to avoid scrutiny in Rafale scam. This enormous fraud was the fit case of corruption the where Prime Minister himself was involved, he said.
Taking on the Prime Minister directly, Member Parliament from Gurdaspur made clear that Prime Minister Modi did not give any clarification in the Parliament to questions posed to him directly by Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Rafale scam.
Referring to the legal notice sent to him, MP Gurdaspur Sunil Jakhar with a paper replica of fighter jet in hand which he said was to show that making jets was serious business and not a child’s play, said that notice stated that Congress party was doing this to benefit a rival company of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Ltd. Daring Anil Ambani to disclose the name of that rival company, Sunil Jakhar stated that both the Ambani and Adani were blue eyed boys of PM and they had got their companies registered within 15 days of the announcement of the deal in France on April 10th 2015. Both wanted the offset contract in which Anil Ambani’s company finally succeeded.
We are doing it to preserve the national interest only and would not be afraid to raise the issues of country’s security and stability, Jakhar added. Advising the Prime Minister to not view the devastation in Kerala through the political prism, he while reminding him about his more than 1,00,000 Crore promise to Bihar, said the people of flood ravaged state needed more than Rs. 20,000 Crores immediately in aid and assistance.
While the PM had promised huge relief package to Bihar during elections just to garner votes, people of Kerala in the face of unprecedented devastation had been only offered paltry amount of approximately Rs 700 Crores only. Terming the assistance announced by Centre as too meager, he said that Prime Minister should be open hearted in sanctioning relief for Kerala and should not wait for elections there to announce a better package.
Lauding the Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab Government for its prompt action in sending relief material to Kerala, he said Congress workers would provide all possible help to those in need.
In response to a media query, Sunil Jakhar while blaming the BJP and RSS for spreading fake news stated that nobody had justified 1984 riots. Cautioning against throttling of institutions by RSS, he said the saffron organisation was trying to subvert every other ideology in the country besides muzzling the voice of dissent.
Our democracy nurtures the spirit of liberty, he said pointing out that even the Hon’ble judges of the apex court had to come out in open to air their grievances public which had never happened in the country ever before.
The BJP was trying to foment communal strife by disseminating false propaganda just to hide their failures on all major fronts, be it employment generation, national and internal security, Chinese infiltration into Doklam, failure to curb black money etc, he added.
