BJP protecting corrupt, silent on Rafale deal: Congress
New Delhi, May 13: The Congress on Sunday hit back at the BJP for "protecting its corrupt leaders and Ministers" and slammed Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her silence on key defence controversies, including the Rafale deal.
It said the Income Tax Department was a "caged bird" of the BJP-led government and action against senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram over a disproportionate assets case was "politically motivated".
Addressing a press conference here, Congress Spokesperson Pawan Khera said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP had not replied to questions over the Rafale price, Vyapam scam, PDS scam in Chhattisgarh, mining scam in Rajasthan and cases involving Union Minister Piyush Goyal, and BJP chief Amit Shah's son Jay Shah.
"When will the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister respond to the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale scam? You also snatched offset business of Rs 30,000 cr from HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) in Bengaluru and gave it to your friend, who has no experience in this field. First, you give answers to these questions and then talk about other issues," Khera said.
In a press conference held earlier in the day over the Income Tax Department's chargesheet against Chidambaram for alleged non-disclosure of assets held abroad, Defence Minister Sitharaman asked if Congress President Rahul Gandhi will probe the matter against one of his senior colleagues.
Khera said Chidambaram had already clarified his stand on the issue and he would challenge the Income Tax Department's action in a court of law.
Taking a dig at Sitharaman, Khera said the Minister always took a lead in responding to all issues, except those related to her ministry, the Rafale deal and other defence deals.
"The Defence Minister chooses to defend her party only. Defence of the country is not her priority. She is not interested in even talking about the welfare of Army or providing resources to the Army," he said.
The Congress leader criticised top BJP leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, including Speaker Nirmal Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta for buying land rights next to the Army's ammunition depot in Nagrota.
Khera also said that the government should not behave like the opposition and give answers to the questions affecting the common man.
"There is no answer to all these issues in the last four years. And new questions are surfacing every day. These questions are related to the life of a common man. You are mired in corruption from head to toe. Who will answer those questions?" he asked.
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India harbouring big and bold dreams in space sector: Shubhanshu Shukla
Kolkata (PTI): Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to go to the International Space Station, on Wednesday said the country is harbouring “big and bold dreams”, foraying into human spaceflight after a hiatus of 41 years.
Shukla was the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. He returned to India from the US on August 17, 2025, after the 18-day mission.
The space is a “great place to be”, marked by deep peace and an “amazing view” that becomes more captivating with time, he said, interacting with schoolchildren at an event organised by the Indian Centre for Space Physics here.
“The longer you stay, the more you enjoy it,” Shukla said, adding on a lighter note that he “actually kind of did not want to come back”.
Shukla said the hands-on experience in space was very different from what he had learnt during training.
He said the future of India’s space science was “very bright”, with the country harbouring “very big and bold dreams”.
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Shukla described his ISS flight, undertaken with support from the US, as a crucial “stepping stone” towards realising India’s ‘Vision Gaganyaan’.
“The experience gained is a national asset. It is already being used by internal committees and design teams to ensure ongoing missions are on the right track,” he said.
Shukla said the country’s space ambitions include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Bharatiya Station (India’s own space station), and eventually a human landing on the Moon.
While the Moon mission is targeted for 2040, he said these projects are already in the pipeline, and the field will evolve at a “very rapid pace” over the next 10-20 years.
He told the students that though these targets are challenging, they are “achievable by people like you”, urging them to take ownership of India’s aspirations.
The sector will generate “a lot of employment opportunities” as India expands its human spaceflight capabilities, he noted.
Echoing the iconic words of India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shukla said that from orbit, “India is still the best in the world”.
Shukla also asserted that the achievement was not his alone, but that of the entire country.
“The youth of India are extremely talented. They must stay focused, remain curious and work hard. It is their responsibility to help build a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Highlighting a shift from Sharma’s era, Shukla said India is now developing a full-fledged astronaut ecosystem.
With Gaganyaan and future missions, children in India will be able to not only dream of becoming astronauts, but also achieving it within the country, he said.
“Space missions help a village kid believe he can go to space someday. When you send one person to space, you lift million hopes. That is why such programmes must continue... The sky is not the limit,” Shukla said.
“Scientists must prepare for systems that will last 20-30 years, while ensuring they can integrate technologies that will emerge a decade from now,” he said.
Shukla added that he looked forward to more space missions, and was keen to undertake a space walk, which will require him to "train for another two years".
