Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday once again targeted the Narendra Modi government, this time over the purchase of two VVIP planes estimated to be around Rs 8,400 crore to fly the prime minister, president and the vice president.
A video doing rounds on social media purportedly shows a group of Indian soldiers in a moving vehicle, discussing how sending personnel in a non-bulletproof convoy was a dangerous prospect. “Even bulletproof vehicles cannot guarantee the safety of our lives, and here we are, sitting in a non-bulletproof truck,” the soldiers can be heard saying. They also talk about how the authorities were “playing with their lives” and that of their families.
Gandhi shared the two-minute video on Twitter and asked why there were no provisions of bulletproof vehicles for these personnel. “Our jawans are being sent in non-bullet proof trucks to get martyred and a Rs 8,400 crore aircraft is brought for the prime minister,” he said. “Is this justice?”
This is not the first time the Congress leader has criticised the Centre for the exorbitant deal. During his campaign in Punjab against the farm reform laws, the Congress leader on Tuesday had accused the prime minister of “wasting” thousands of crores of rupees on the aircraft, PTI reported.
He had also questioned why the same money was not used to provide logistical support to Indian soldiers fighting Chinese troops in Ladakh in inclement weather conditions. “On one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought two aircrafts worth Rs 8,000 crore and on the other hand, China is at our borders and our soldiers are braving a harsh cold to protect our borders,” he had said.
The Congress leader wondered how many things could have been bought for the soldiers stationed in Siachen-Ladakh border with the money spent on the planes. The Narendra Modi government has maintained that the process for procuring the two aircraft had begun under the UPA government, adding that the current dispensation has only brought it to a logical conclusion.
A specifically modified Boeing 777 aircraft landed in New Delhi on October 1 after its retrofitment in the United States for more than two years,
This is the country’s first-ever VVIP plane, which was scheduled to be delivered by aircraft manufacturer Boeing to Air India in July but its delivery was delayed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic. Another custom-made aircraft for the travel of VVIPs is likely to be delivered by October-end.
Before this, the government borrowed Boeing 747s from Air India ahead of a VVIP visit. However, those jet do not have secure communication equipment, sensors to detect and jam hostile threats such as surface-to-air missiles.
The VVIP planes are equipped with missile warning sensors and countermeasures dispensing defence system, part of Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures or LAIRCM. It also includes a VVIP suite, two conference rooms, a press briefing room, a patient transfer unit, self-protection suites, secure video telephony and sound proofing. The planes also have outstanding fuel efficiency and can fly for long distances without stopping for refuelling midway.
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