SHILLONG, SEPT 4: Congress leader and MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi today predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be voted out of power at the Centre in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to be held next year.
“The upcoming 2019 elections will be one where the people of India will be on one side and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national chief Amit Shah will be on the other side,” Gogoi told reporters here on Tuesday.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson was in the state capital to highlight the alleged scams and failures of the BJP-led NDA government which include the Rafales jet deal.
Asked, Gogoi said that there are many issues facing the people of the country in the upcoming elections.
“First issue is that none of the promises made in 2014 have been fulfilled, second issue is young people continues to be unemployed and are frustrated, third issue is our society known for pluralism known all over the world for unity and diversity is being divided and fractured by the BJP, fourth is the issue of how only crony capitalists are benefiting and fifth is the issue of the PM’s own conduct during the Rafales’ deal…all of these would matter in the upcoming elections,” he added.
Stating that the Congress has been consistently raising the issue related to the Rafales deal, Gogoi however said ever since the PM visited France on April 10, 2015 since then it has been three years and yet this government is diverting, deviating, escaping from providing the truth and the facts.
“The Rafales jet purchased has also exposed a pattern of how PM Narendra Modi only speaks of the poor but ends up helping the rich and the corrupt,” he said.
According to him, in order to protect India from external threat and external aggression, our air force experts and officials said India needs 126 new fighter jets to adequately protect ourselves.
He said that during the then UPA-government in the process of selecting the best company for providing these fighter jets, the French company Dassault Aviation was identified and 126 fighter jets were ordered at the cost Rs 526 crore per fighter jet adding 108 of these fighter jets were to be manufactured in partnership between Dassault Aviation and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, a public sector unit with vast expertise in design and development of fighter jets.
“In 2014 government changed and PM went to France all of us were hoping that UPA project/agreement with Government of France on the purchase of 126 Rafales will be concluded on this visit but instead we saw without any prior cabinet related meeting or following government procedures the contract was modified first the number of fighter jets was brought down from 126 to 36, the price per fighter jet has been escalated three times from Rs 526 crore, the price got escalated to Rs 1670 crore,” he said.
“Records shows when decision of this level and magnitude and sensitive are made they are lot of procedures that are followed at the cabinet committee and defence committee and foreign level because you are changing an established contract,” he said adding “The PM is not a defence expert how does he knows, has the defence need of India changed for which he is reduces from 126 to 36, is he an expert on negotiations because how come there has been three times escalations.”
Alleging there has been a unilateral decision by the PM himself, the Congress leader said, “This deal speaks of betraying our country’s security, it speaks of crony capitalism of a private company, it speaks of looting public tax payers’ money. There is betrayal and compromise of our defence need and this has the personal intervention of PM Modi and a private company has benefited from PM decision.”
He further alleged that now that the Congress is asking tough questions and asking details about the Rafales deal through a joint parliament committee, the private company Reliance Defence Ltd has sent legal notice to the party.
“We want to ask the PM to please stop hiding behind Anil Ambani’s legal notices as the people of India know that there has been something wrong and rotten happen in the Rafales jet they want to know the truth. If the PM and BJP have nothing to hide then initiate the joint parliament committee,” he said.
Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Celestine Lyngdoh said that the PM talks about smart cities but till now he has not heard of any city implementing even 20-25 per cent of the project.
Referring to the Modi’s claim before becoming the PM that Pakistan should be dealt with firm hands, Lyngdoh however said, “What has he done now that he has become the PM, it is only big talks while our people are suffering.”
On the other hand, Congress spokesperson Zenith Sangma slammed the BJP led NDA government for being good only at giving promises. “This present leadership is only good at giving false promises which could not materialized because they are just trying to fool the people of the country,” he said.
By Our Reporter
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