‘Daal mein kuch kala hai’: Pawar on Rafale

Pimpri: Slamming the Modi government over the ongoing row over the Rafale aircraft purchase deal, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar here said that the government’s reluctance to disclose the price of the aircraft even to the Supreme Court meant that ‘daal mein kuch kala hai.’

Pawar, also a former defence minister, said that the government was not ready to disclose the price of the Rafale aircraft even in a sealed envelope to the Supreme Court bench led by the Chief Justice of India.
“This has therefore raised doubts as to why the government was interested in keeping the plane’s price a secret,” he said.

Speaking at a Kamgar Parishad at Rahatni here on Saturday, Pawar also criticised the Union government’s move to entrust production of weaponry and equipment in the sensitive defence sector to private companies.

Pawar said that former Defence Minister YB Chavan had taken the lead in establishing ordnance depots in various parts of the country with the sole intention of manufacturing weaponry and war-related equipment within the country so that these secrets are not known to other countries.

“But the present regime has entrusted the job of producing the spare parts and equipment of the Rafale fighter planes to private companies,” he added.

The NCP chief also extended his party’s support to the nationwide two-day bandh called by labour organisations on January 8 and 9 to protest against the government’s anti-labour policies.