Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday referred to the AgustaWestland chopper case at an election rally, saying the top Congress leadership received kickbacks in the UPA-era purchase. Addressing an election rally at the Parade Ground here, Mr. Modi also accused the Congress of being soft on Pakistan.

“Agencies have investigated persons we brought back from Dubai. On that basis a chargesheet has been filed. I saw in the media that the persons who received kickbacks in the case and are mentioned in the charge sheet are ‘AP’ and ‘FAM’. The same chargesheet mentions ‘AP’ means Ahmed Patel and ‘FAM’ means family,” Mr. Modi said.

Mr. Modi was addressing a rally in Dehra Dun for the Tehri Garhwal seat where Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, BJP’s sitting MP has been re-nominated.

The Prime Minister referred to alleged middleman Christian Michel, who was extradited from Dubai, and said he was revealing secrets of the “helicopter scam”.

Mr. Modi alleged that the tough attitude of the government regarding such cases of corruption was not appreciated by the Opposition.

Mr. Modi also accused the Congress of carrying out a campaign which favoured Pakistan.

“Congress has declared in its manifesto, that if it comes to power then it will remove the special protection that the military and paramilitary forces have enjoyed while serving in Kashmir,” Mr. Modi said, referring to the Congress party’s rethink of AFSPA mentioned in its manifesto.

Mr. Modi argued that removal of AFSPA will break the morale of the military. He alleged that Congress wished to engage with stone pelters in Kashmir who are supported by Pakistan. He also targeted the Congress’ manifesto which has promised to repeal the sedition law.

OROP success

The speech appealed to the rich heritage of Uttarakhand and the large number of military families in the State. Mr. Modi promised to accelerate development in the mountainous State. “With your blessings and support we have got the One Rank One Pension issue resolved which was hanging for the last 40 years,” said Mr. Modi, accusing past governments of not getting OROP implemented.