Amid Rafale row, Rahul Gandhi to meet HAL employees in Bengaluru
New Delhi, Oct 13 : Standing in support of state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Congress president Rahul Gandhi will Saturday meet the employees of the public sector unit outside its headquarters in Bengaluru.
The Gandhi scion said there was a need to "defend the dignity of India's defenders" as he accused the Narendra Modi government of "snatching" the Rafale offset contract from HAL and "gifting" it to Anil Ambani's company.
"HAL is India's strategic asset. The future of India's aerospace industry has been destroyed by snatching #Rafale from HAL & gifting it to Anil Ambani," the Congress president tweeted.
"Come defend the dignity of India's defenders. I am in Bengaluru to stand with HAL's employees. Join me outside HAL HQ, at 3 PM," he added.
Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party have been attacking the Modi government over the Rs 58000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal alleging corruption and favouritism.
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Switching to electric power has saved Railways Rs 6,000 crore: Vaishnaw in Lok Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): The Railways has saved Rs 6,000 crore by shifting from diesel to electric energy to run trains, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Responding to a debate on demands for grants of the Railway Ministry, he also said that the national transporter has become the second largest cargo carrier in the world.
Vaishnaw said that during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, 35,000 km of railway track has been laid while 27,000 km has been electrified.
He said while staff cost is the biggest expenditure of the Railways, energy is the second biggest expenditure.
He noted that in coming times diesel locomotives will fade away making way for electric locomotives.
Vaishnaw said since the Modi government came to power in 2014, politics of performance has taken over from politics of vote.
He said that in a visionary decision, PM Modi had decided to merge the railway budget with the general budget which has led to increase in financial allocation for his ministry.
Now, new trains are inaugurated and new projects are launched throughout the year, which was not the case earlier. Railways' financial health has increased and so has transparency in publishing accounts, he said.
Vaishnaw noted that the Finance Ministry and other agencies keep a tab on monetary health using IT systems.
As many as 210 MPs participated in the debate which lasted two days.
