Cutting down competition as of now to just two fighters -- F-16 by Lockheed Martin and Gripen by Saab -- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said India will select one more single engine aircraft other than Tejas for indigenous manufacture under 'Make in India' route.
'The INS Vishal -- a 65,000 tonne giant with 54 aircraft, including fighters, electronic warfare aircraft, airborne command posts and anti-submarine helicopters -- can both protect and dominate,' says Ajai Shukla.
Congress chief urged Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to answer the questions raised by the Congress on the multi-million dollar fighter jet deal.
Rahul reiterated that there was massive corruption in the Rafale deal.
Anwar's move came a day after media reports quoted Pawar having told a Marathi news channel that he did not think people had doubts over the prime minister's intentions in the Rafale fighter plane deal.
The two Houses would now meet on December 27 as there would be no sitting on December 24 and December 26 in view of Christmas.
'It appears that Prime Minister Modi has to undo 50 years of State monopoly in the defence sector during which public undertakings like HAL or DRDO monopolised defence production and development with disastrous consequences.'
'The arrests of Sanatan Sanstha members for committing murder and stockpiling explosives with the alleged intent of committing mass murder must be embarrassing to a majoritarian government,' notes Devangshu Datta.
Randeep Surjewala also accused the government of "doublespeak" and "sacrificing" national interests.
Gandhi's attack came a day after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had refused to share the details of the deal on the grounds of security agreement signed between India and France.
Rahul accuses govt of weakening HAL to benefit Anil Ambani while Sitharaman said doubts raised over HAL contracts are misleading.
"When you tell one lie, you need to keep spinning out more lies, to cover up the first one. In her eagerness to defend the PM's Rafale lie, the RM lied to Parliament," Gandhi tweeted.
'The RSS guides us, never dictates.'
In their review plea, they alleged that the judgment "relied upon patently incorrect claims made by the government in an unsigned note given in a sealed cover" to the apex court.
Moving ahead towards scrapping the Rs 3,600 crore controversial chopper deal, Defence Minister AK Antony on Wednesday said AgustaWestland has "violated the contract" for supplying 12 VVIP choppers for the air force.
The Congress chief alleged that in the 2016 demonetisation exercise, black money became white, nobody went to jail and contrary to the BJP's promise, no one received Rs 15 lakh in their bank account.
The Congress has raised several questions on the Rafale deal, accusing the government of compromising with national interests.
The apex court at the same time made it clear that it does not want information on pricing and technical parameters relating to the fighter aircraft.
'Narendra Modi knows how to calculate and remain pragmatic. Take the unexpected Rafale deal - perhaps the first time a PM has considered the country's defence procurement as a priority, over the considerations of the babus... and over his own pet project 'Make in India',' says Claude Arpi.
The BJP, however, reacted sharply to Gandhi's remarks saying the Congress leader will do well worrying more about his constituency.
Boeing is likely to vie for the deal to supply 110 fighter jets to the IAF in one of the biggest such procurement in recent years globally which could be worth over USD 15 billion.
SAAB's Sea Gripen constitutes a new option as the INS Vikrant's light fighter
With the IAF having rejected variants of 4 of the contending aircraft -- the Super Hornet, F-16, Gripen C/D and MiG-35 -- in flight trials carried out between 2009-2011 in the MMRCA tender, are the current contenders improved enough to pass flight trials conducted to the same standards?
Mr Rahul Gandhi himself has given seven different prices in different speeches with regard to the Rafale, that is the 2007 offer.
'Over the last two decades, the India-French relationship has grown steadily, no major political difference having darkened the sky between Paris and Delhi,' says Claude Arpi.
Disciplinary action is being taken against two officers in the shooting down of the chopper.
In its order, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, gave some more leeway to the government which has been arguing that pricing details are so sensitive that they have not even been shared with Parliament.
Squadron Leader Samir Abrol's brother Sushant, who brought back his older sibling's coffin draped in the Tricolour, tells Archana Masih why life will never be the same again.
Congress has repeatedly alleged a "scam" in the purchase of Rafale fighter jets claiming the cost per aircraft in 2012 was agreed at Rs 526.10 crore while the one signed by the Modi government costs 7.5 billion (Rs 1,670.70 crore per aircraft).
The ministry had on Friday decided to replace Chatterjee as joint secretary and acquisition manager (Air), in-charge of handling the chopper deal, which is facing cancellation in view of bribery allegations, and the multi-billion dollar 126 combat aircraft deal of the Air Force.
The company wants to make F 16-Block 70 "for India, from India and export to the world".
>The Indian Navy wants 'day and night capable, all weather multi-role deck based combat aircraft which can be used for air defence, air-to-surface operations, buddy refuelling, reconnaissance, electronic warfare missions' from its aircraft carriers.
The road show was the virtual launch of the Congress campaign for the assembly polls slated later this year, in which his party has the tough task of dislodging the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been ruling the state for the last 15 years.
Reaching out to present and former employees of the defence PSU at an interaction with them, Gandhi said, work done by HAL for the country was tremendous and the country owed debt to it for "protecting us" and creating a scientific vision.
'You will see how tears again flow from the eyes of this actor 2-3 days before the elections,' he said.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Thursday its verdicts on a batch of petitions seeking re-examination of its decision to allow entry of women of all age group in Kerala's Sabarimala Temple and a review of its judgment giving a clean chit to the Modi government in the Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation.
The defence minister also called the bickering against the deal as "disservice" to the armed forces, asserting that urgent requirement of the Indian Air Force was the main reason for sealing it.
Lauding the contribution of non-resident Indians in the development of the country, he said, 'Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru were all NRIs. They travelled the world and helped India with new perspectives.'
The trio also accused PM Modi of single-handedly changing the parameters of the deal.
India won't pay more than $7 billion for 36 Rafale aircraft. The French want $11 billion.
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