Pawar boosts PM on Rafale, adamant on JPC probe
Mumbai, Sep 27 : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image has been unscathed in the ongoing Rafale fighter aircraft row, a statement the BJP heartily welcomed on Thursday.
"There is no doubt in public minds about Modi's intentions in the Rafale deal, that's what I feel," Pawar said in an interview with a Marathi news channel New18-Lokmat, aired on Wednesday.
However, concurring with the Congress-led opposition demands, Pawar made it clear that there should be a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the Rafale deal in depth to unravel the truth before the public.
"When the Bofors deal with signed, the BJP was in the opposition and vociferously demanded a JPC probe which the then ruling Congress conceded. The terms and conditions of secrecy and other aspects are common in both Bofors and the Rafale agreements. So a JPC must be appointed to clear the air on the Rafale issue," Pawar asserted.
While the Congress on Thursday terming it Pawar's "personal views" on the sensitive matter, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah grabbed the opportunity by thanking Pawar for "placing national interests above party politics and speaking the truth".
"Dear Rahul Gandhi, you would be wiser by believing your own ally and a leader of Pawar Saheb's stature," Shah said in a mocking tweet.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi has been calling Modi a "chor" (thief) on the Rafale deal.
Attempting a damage control exercise, senior NCP leader and MP Majeed Memon said Pawar's statement was being atwisted out of context.
"There is absolutely no question of giving 'a clean chit' to anyone as suggested in some sections of the media," he said.
"I wish to make it clear on behalf of Pawar that the JPC should focus on two main issues - the financials of the deal and the pricing of the aircraft, and why Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd was suddenly edged out. The financials are very important and they cannot hide behind the secrecy clause since it's the taxpayer's money," Memon told IANS.
Pawar further said that while the technical clause was confidential, there was nothing wrong in revealing the pricing of the deal.
He pointed out that during the Bofors controversy, BJP leader and now External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had even wanted the technical aspects revealed.
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Man kills woman lecturer, sets car ablaze; dies by suicide in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): A 46-year-old man allegedly killed a woman lecturer by setting fire to the car with her inside, before dying by suicide; his severed body was found by railway police the next day, police said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Ramanjinappa, a resident of Doddaballapura, was a contract worker in the tahsildar’s office, they said.
Police said the man, who was married and had apparently separated from his wife, was in an illicit relationship with a woman identified as Saroja, whose charred body was found inside a gutted car in an isolated area near the Bashetty Industrial Area in Doddaballapura taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Saroja was also married and had a son, police said.
According to police, on Saturday, the man allegedly borrowed a car from an acquaintance, claiming he had a medical emergency and needed to visit a hospital.
Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer said the man picked up the lecturer from a bus stop in Devanahalli. The two spent a couple of hours driving around Nandi Hills and nearby areas.
Later, they reached a secluded spot in Doddaballapura, where it is suspected that an argument ensued inside the car, following which he allegedly hit her on the head with a hammer, the officer said.
He then set the car on fire, reportedly using petrol, and is believed to have died by suicide thereafter, police said.
Locals who saw the burning car alerted the police and fire department, who rushed to the spot, extinguished the fire, and found the woman’s body completely charred inside the vehicle, the officer added.
His severed body was found near railway tracks in Bidadi by the railway police on Sunday, he said.
The motive and whether the crime was premeditated or impulsive are under investigation, he said.
Saroja’s husband filed a complaint accusing Ramanjinappa of killing her, police said, adding that a detailed investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events.
