New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday hit back at the Congress for raising questions on the India-US drone deal, saying doing scams in defence deals has become a part of the opposition party’s DNA and it cannot see beyond corruption in defence purchases.
Party chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni said defence and strategic experts have unanimously welcomed the decision to purchase predator drones during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to the US.
The Congress is so addicted to engaging in corruption in defence deals when in power and opposing them at the cost of the nation’s security and soldiers’ safety when in opposition that it has become a part of its DNA, he said.
“While benefits of the purchase are visible to the world, the question is why is the Congress criticising the agreement? The reason is that a habitual thief sees a thief in others,” he said.
From the alleged jeep scam of 1952 to the suspected corruption in the purchase of Bofors guns, submarines and the AgustaWestland deal, the list of scams perpetrated by the Congress is long, he alleged.
People can see the fingerprints of “father, uncle and brother-in-law” in all of them, he said in a swipe at the Gandhi family.
In the nine of the Narendra Modi government, defence purchases have been clean and transparent and the Congress, starved of its commission, is getting restless and angry, Baluni said, adding that it had levelled accusations against the Rafale deal too.
The Supreme Court and the CAG looked into the deal and found nothing wrong, he added.
With elections approaching, the Congress is again fanning propaganda and has learnt no lesson from its earlier defeats, he said.
Experts are of the view that the arrival of these state-of-the-art drones will boost India’s intelligence and surveillance capability and also give a fillip to the firepower of defence forces, he said, noting that the US had so far been sharing such technology only with NATO countries and its traditional military allies.
It is not only providing drones to India but has also agreed that the assembly of those drones will happen in India, Baluni said.
This is a huge success due to which a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) system will be created in India and it will emerge as a hub, boosting its indigenous drone industry as well, the BJP leader said.
The Congress earlier called for complete transparency in the multi-crore India-US drone deal, while alleging that the 31 MQ-9B Predator UAV drones were being procured for a higher price.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said at a press conference that national security was paramount and that several doubts were being raised on the predator drone deal.
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