Rafale deal overtakes Bofors scam
There are two things that BJP uses as a defence to escape its responsibilities. One is that Indira Gandhi imposed emergency during her tenure as PM of this country. Another one is Bofors, a political and defence scandal involving former PM Rajiv Gandhi’s name. Congress is paying heavily for these mistakes since a long time. The first person to speak against Bofors was former PM V P Singh, who was in Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet. He quit Congress and waged a war against it.
Bofors scandal cost Rajiv Gandhi very dearly. His reputation of ‘Mr Clean’ suffered a massive set back. He was forced to bear the brunt of mistakes committed by someone else. Rajiv Gandhi was a political visionary who took India to another level with his foresightedness as far as IT is concerned. Even courts have denied the role of Rajiv Gandhi in Bofors scandal. But then, BJP has continued its tirade against Congress using this topic.
BJP also refers to emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi quite often. Ironically enough, PM Narendra Modi has brought in emergency-like situation in India since the last four years. Common people and media have got a taste of this. Just the way as the press and commoners were targeted during emergency and sounded a death knell to anyone who spoke against Indira Gandhi or the government, the same situation exists even now with Modi at the helm of affairs. No media can dare criticize the government or ministers now. The journalists who have exposed the government’s misdoings are being threatened in different ways.
The IT raid and attempts to stop NDTV was a ‘caution’ issued for having criticized the government. Three journalists ABP channel had to lose jobs owing to their expose against the government.
That common people had to queue before the banks to get their own hard earned money is the darkest phase of post-independence Indian history. People didn’t have to face this even during emergency period.
Law on sale of cattle is another sort of emergency for sure. Goondas and rowdies have been reaping benefits of this new order which denies the farmers their right on their cattle. This law can even provide impetus to killing of a farmer if he takes his cattle for sale. Mob lynchings have become an order of the day in Modi’s India. Having landed the country at this juncture, Narendra Modi does not have any right to criticize the days of emergency. More than anything else, BJP government is using Bofors as its defence even after Congress was proved innocent in the matter. Modi government has been holding this out, while being so unmindful of its own involvement in Rafale deal, which is way bigger than Bofors. This is not the first time NDA govt is being caught in a defence deal. In a sting operation carried out by Tehelka tabloid, NDA led by Vajpayee was caught in a very sorry state of having accepted bribe for the defence deals. The desh bhakts were caught in a very compromising situation. A scandal in the deal of buying coffins for martyrs was also unearthed.
But looks like Rafale deal will overtake all of them in sheer size of corruption. This deal with France-based company to provide war planes is being currently termed as the bigger corruption than Bofors in its size and magnitude. Government entered into an agreement with France to buy 36 war planes at a cost of Rs 58,000 crores. Though Rahul Gandhi kept referring to this time and again, the media was successful in keeping this topic under wraps.
But now, former BJP leaders Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha have spoken against this. There is a huge difference between opposition leaders talking about this and former senior partymen speaking against this issue.
Arun Shourie was in the forefront when Bofors news appeared in the press in 1989. Now, the same man says “Rafale deal is much bigger than Bofors.”
Modi government has blundered more number of times as far as mingling with the army is concerned. They politicised surgical strike and opened doors for FDI in defence sector. Now Rafale issue has cost them quite a bit of reputation. Though such a massive scam is being levelled against the government, Modi isn’t opening his mouth at all. If Narendra Modi is innocent in all of them, the same could have been issued as an order. But Modi thinks such false allegations are something he must wear on his shoulder.
If Rafale is not a transparent deal and the country has been lied to, it is equivalent to anti-national behaviour. This would have massive impact on the psyche of soldiers who are working to safeguard the country. Audit of this deal is a must to protect reputation. Modi must offer an explanation to this issue and in complete consciousness of the fact that Bofors cannot be a reason to defend to Rafale deal.
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Inappropriate for MLAs seeking free IPL tickets, says D.K. Suresh
Bengaluru: Bengaluru Milk Union Ltd President D.K. Suresh on Monday said it is inappropriate for MLAs to seek free IPL tickets, adding that those interested in watching matches should pay for them personally.
Speaking to reporters near his residence in Sadashivanagar, he said, “IPL is a commercial tournament and does not represent the country. It is not right for public representatives to focus too much on such matters.”
Referring to the recent controversy during the RCB celebrations, he said, “let us find out who benefited the most from the statements made during the incident.” He also pointed out that BJP MLAs had received IPL tickets as well.
Responding to discussions about relocating the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Suresh said the government has already approved the construction of a new stadium at a location he had proposed.
“I had suggested building a stadium in Surya City and submitted a proposal for it. Bengaluru needs four stadiums in four directions to cater to its growing population and encourage youth participation in sports,” he said.
He noted that apart from Kanteerava Stadium, KSCA, and the Football Stadium, there are limited facilities in the city.
“When I was a Lok Sabha member, I had proposed allocating 100 acres in my constituency at Surya City. The land was later earmarked and the plan approved,” he added.
Suresh said he has discussed the project with Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Chairman Shivalingegowda, and Anekal MLA Shivanna.
“The Cabinet has now approved the project, and a stadium will be developed on around 50–60 acres,” he said.
He further added that he has requested the Deputy Chief Minister to build another stadium at Shivarama Karanth Layout through the BDA, where 40 acres have been allocated. Plans are also being discussed to develop a well-equipped stadium in Bidadi.
Commending state government's recent bilingual policy move, Suresh said forcing children to learn three languages could affect their comprehension.
“It is a good decision to make two languages compulsory. Learning a third language should be left to the choice of students and parents,” he said.
Responding to criticism from BJP leaders, he said their tendency is to oppose every decision of the government.
“To please their central leadership, they take a pro-Hindi stance. Instead, they should advocate for the adoption of Kannada in all states,” he said.
When asked about the earlier three-language policy under Congress, he said, “the situation is different now. Today, the focus should be on quality learning. Kannada should remain the primary language, while students and parents can choose an additional language.”
