Congress leader Priyanka Chaturvedi questions Modi govt
Mathura sep 02: The Congress has asked the Narendra Modi government why it inked a deal with France's Dassault Aviation to buy just 36 aircraft when 126 fighter jets were required.
The party's national spokesperson, Priyanka Chaturvedi, asked if there's any urgency, why the government did not ask the French company to supply all the aircraft in one go. "The first lot of the aircraft will be supplied in 2019 and the rest in 2022. If there is any urgency, the whole lot should have been supplied by 2019," she said on Saturday.
Chaturvedi asked why the government is "afraid of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the deal, if it's fair". "A total of 126 aircraft were required, but the NDA government signed a pact for only 36 aircraft. This is strange," she said.
"How the cost per plane soared from Rs 526 crore to Rs 1,670 crore?", Chaturvedi asked.
The Congress leader said though the deal could not materialise during the UPA government's tenure, but it ensured transparency in all matters related to it.
Union minister Arun Jaitley had earlier said the fully weaponised fighter jets which his government is buying are 20 percent cheaper than the ones offered under the previous UPA regime. In 2015, then defence minister Manohar Parrikar had said that the government had decided to buy only 36 Rafale fighter jets scrapping the earlier plan to acquire 126 of the French aircraft on grounds of huge cost.
Courtesy: firstpost.com
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Voting begins for Assam''s 126 assembly seats
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Guwahati (PTI): Polling for all 126 Assam assembly constituencies began on Thursday to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates, officials said.
In the high-stakes election, the ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in office, while the Congress seeks to wrest power after being ousted in 2016.
Polling, being held in a single phase, began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations from early morning.
An electorate of 2.50 crore, including 1.25 crore women and 318 from the third gender, can exercise their franchise in 31,490 polling stations across the state.
Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi, assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
Several cabinet ministers, including the AGP’s Atul Bora and Keshav Mahanta, and the BPF’s Charan Boro are also in the fray.
The Congress has the highest of 99 contestants, followed by the BJP (90), AIUDF (30), NDA allies AGP (26) and BPF (11).
Opposition alliance’s Raijor Dal is contesting in 13, AJP in 10, CPI(M) in 3 and APHLC in 2. Outside the two coalitions, the AAP is contesting in 18 seats, UPPL in 18, TMC 22, JMM 16 and there are 258 independents.
The ruling NDA’s main constituents are the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo Peoples’ Front (BPF) while the opposition alliance comprises the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and CPI(ML).
The counting of votes is scheduled on May 4.
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