Congress to launch agitation over Rafale deal
New Delhi, Aug 18 : The Congress on Saturday decided to step up its attack over the Rafale deal, terming it a "scam" of the Narendra Modi government and said the party will launch a nation-wide agitation on the issue.
The issue came up for discussion at a meeting of Congress general secretaries, party in-charges of states, legislative party leaders and state unit chiefs, which was presided over by Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
The meeting discussed the party's preparations for the assembly polls later this year in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram.
Briefing reporters later, Congress Communications In-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said the meeting discussed "political challenges in the election-bound states".
He said that meeting also discussed the Rafale deal signed by the Modi government to purchase fighter jets from France and alleged that there had been a loss of Rs 41,000 crore to the exchequer.
He said the Congress party will launch an agitation to highlight "bhrashtachar ka khel, Rafale" (corruption in Rafale deal).
"It was decided that the scams of Modi government, particularly the Rafale scam, will be taken to the people of India. In next 30 days, Congress workers will fan out and hold district and state-level demonstrations," Surjewala said.
He alleged that a contract in the Rafale deal had been "snatched away" from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, a public sector undertaking.
Surjewala said that party leaders, including Congress Working Committee members, general secretaries, in-charges of states and party secretaries, will approach people at block, district and state levels and "ensure that a fair and independent probe and a JPC (joint parliamentary committee) probe into the Rafale deal is constituted immediately."
"We will push the government, we will not stop, we will not be deterred," Surjewala said.
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Siddaramaiah holds emergency meeting with top cops over Kotekar Cooperative Society robbery
Mangaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened an emergency meeting with senior police officials in Mangaluru following the robbery at the Kotekar Cooperative Society on K.C. Road, Talapady. He directed authorities to expedite the investigation and apprehend the culprits at the earliest.
The meeting took place after a Medical Education Department program and was attended by Western Zone IG Amit, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, SP Yatish, and DySP.
Seeking a detailed briefing on the incident, Siddaramaiah questioned the officials about how the robbers managed to escape so easily, how many toll gates they crossed, and the lack of security at these checkpoints.
The officials however, conveyed that there was no security officer at the Society’s office at the time of the robbery and only five or six staff members were present at the time of the heist.
Police officials informed the Chief Minister that the suspects were recorded speaking in Kannada and Hindi. Siddaramaiah instructed the authorities to enforce strict checks at all toll gates, impose blockades across four districts borders, and ensure the arrest of the accused for strict legal action.
