New Delhi, Jan 20 (UNI) Alleging the government of undermining the country’s national interest in acquisition of fighter aircraft, the Congress on Sunday attacked the ruling dispensation and said that the defence minister was serving and protecting the interest of their corporate friends.
Addressing mediapersons here, Congress Spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “We also have few questions to ask Ms Sitharaman who today at this point of time comes across as the most defenceless minister of India who is protecting, serving and defending the interest of the government and like we say their corporate friends.”
Ms Chaturvedi said she has a question to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and asked, “What was the compulsion to snatch 108 Rafale contract fighter jets that would have come to HAL through ToT? The twitter feed of Dassault Aviation said that a workshare agreement has been signed between the HAL and the DA. Also, the HAL had signed this workshare agreement on March 13, 2014 worth Rs 36,000 crore. In Parliament, whose interest the defence minister was defending?”
A day ago, the minister had indicated that the oppositions were becoming the party to international corporate warfare and said, “We cannot become pawns in the hands of corporate giants by constantly bully the government, constantly through misinformation and misinforming the public.
In her indirect attack, the Congress spokesperson lambasted the government on selecting a 12-day old private company over a 75-year old public defence manufacturing firm.
“Through the entire Rafale deal, the government has chosen to deny HAL, a 75-year old defence manufacturing company – interest of offset contract as well as transfer of technology to serve the corporate interest of a company which was came up 12 days prior the Rafale deal being signed, having absolute zero experience in defence manufacturing space,” the Congress leader added.
She also raked up the issue that the incorporation license was given to Anil Ambani-headed Reliance Defence Limited when she was the Commerce Minister in 2015 and questioned that “Whose commercial interests were being served by the ministry of commerce?”
UNI ASH ADG 1809