Bengaluru, July 26: KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao alleged that by changing the agreement done during the UPA government on purchasing Rafale fighter planes, the Narendra Modi government at the centre has reached its peak in corruption.
Speaking to reporters at the KPCC office here on Thursday, Dinesh Gundu Rao said that apart from destroying the economic system of the country, the central government has changed the foreign policy, being followed since independence. By sowing the seed of hatred, Narendra Modi has sold the interest of the security of the country for the sake of his friends. By doing this, the Modi government has avoided the HAL Company to get financial boost up and generate employment opportunities, and transferring of much needed technology required for manufacturing aircrafts and became a middleman by helping his friend Anil Ambani’s industry, he alleged.
The UPA government had an agreement with France to purchase 126 fighter planes at a cost of Rs 54,000 crore for Indian Air Force. Agreement was made with the Dassault company to give 18 planes in ‘ready-to-fly’ condition to India and developing remaining 108 planes in HAL Company in Bengaluru through technology transfer. But in April 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flouted all norms to make an agreement to purchase 36 planes for Rs 60000 crore and it was announced in a press conference, he said.
Now, the central government has made an agreement with the Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited, recently floated by Anil Ambani, to purchase the spare parts of fighter planes for Rs 30000 crore. Unfortunately, his company has no experience in producing those spare parts and does not have that technology as well, the KPCC chief said.
As per the UPA government agreement, one plane would cost Rs 526.10 crore. But as per the Modi government agreement, each plane would cost Rs 1670.70 crore. Interestingly, this international agreement was not discussed in the Defence Sub-Committee of the Cabinet and it was a clear violation of the norms of purchasing defence materials. The Ministry of Defence did not have any information about the deal. While purchasing Miraz and Sukhoi planes, the UPA government had informed the Parliament and the country about their prices and done a transparent transaction. But the Modi government had the Parliament that each plane would cost Rs 670 crore. But in its annual report, Dassault company had mentioned the price of each plane as Rs 1670 crore, he displayed the records.
Questions to PM
- What’s the reason for purchasing just 36 planes instead of 126 planes and technology transfer?
- Why did you avoid the Defence Sub-Committee of Cabinet and violate defence equipment norms?
- For what purpose the private company was given the contract forgetting the HAL, the pride of the country?
- Why the government is hesitating to disclose the actual price of planes?
The silence of Narendra Modi in this deal would pave way for more suspicions. This would definitely register in the history that it was the worst deal happened in the century. Modi’s development and ‘Achhe Din’ were just a causerie. The Prime Minister should disclose the truth in this Session. Otherwise, the Congress would fight against the central government, Dinesh said.
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Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.