IAF chief backs Rafale deal
New Delhi, Sep 12 : Amid the rising clamour on the Rafale deal, the Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, on Wednesday said by acquiring the French fighters the IAF was strengthening its depleting fleet.
"By providing the Rafale and the S-400 (anti-missile system), the government is strengthening the Indian Air Force to counter the shortfall of our depleting numbers of aircraft," he said at an event here.
Pointing to IAF's strength coming down to 31 squadrons from the sanctioned strength of 42, Dhanoa said India faced a shortage of fighter aircraft despite the threat of a two-front war with Pakistan and China.
"Very few countries are facing challenges like us. We have two nuclear-armed neighbours.We have to match neighbours Pakistan and China to tackle a two-front war," he said.
The IAF chief's comments come a day after former Bharatiya Janata Party ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "personal culpability" in the Rafale deal which they dubbed as the country's "biggest defence scam".
Earlier this month, the IAF Vice Chief, Air Marshal S.B. Deo too, had endorsed the Rafale, deal saying the aircraft will give India "unprecedented combat capabilities".
Besides BJP rebels Sinha and Shourie, the Congress led by its President Rahul Gandhi has been relentlessly attacking the Modi government over the jet deal that was announced by the Prime Minister in 2015.
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Allahabad HC dismisses petition seeking permission to mount loudspeaker on mosque
Prayagraj, Jan 24 (PTI): The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed a writ petition seeking direction to the state authorities to permit the mounting of loudspeakers on a Masjid.
The court observed that the religious places were for offering prayers, therefore the use of loudspeakers was not a matter of right.
Dismissing the writ petition filed by Pilibhit-resident Mukhtiyar Ahmad, a two judge-bench, comprising Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Donadi Ramesh, observed, "Religious places are for offering prayers to the divinity and use of loudspeakers cannot be claimed as a matter of right, particularly when often such use of loudspeakers create nuisance for the residents".
At the outset, the state counsel objected to the maintainability of the writ on the grounds that the petitioner was neither a mutawalli, nor did the mosque belong to him.
The court also noted that the petitioner did not have locus to file the writ petition.
The term 'locus' is a legal concept that refers to the right of a person or entity to participate in a legal proceeding or bring a lawsuit.
