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.
"Our neighbouring country thinks such terror attacks can weaken us, but their plans will not materialise," he said at a function to flag off a new semi-high speed train from Delhi to Varanasi.
Centre objected to the review petition and said that the basic grounds for seeking review of the verdict are the same as they were in the main petition.
'There is no secrecy clause to the price (of the aircraft).' 'There can be secrecy on the capability of the nuclear payload of aircraft and things like that, but the price is hardly a secret.'
Singh asserted that the people have made up their minds to vote out the government
The reshuffle is likely to take place after the ongoing Budget session ends on April 12, reports Archis Mohan.
Amid the charges and counter-charges over the AgustaWestland issue, the Congress on Friday accused the Modi government of "working overtime" tapping the phones of opposition, civil servants and judges.
Army killed 10 terrorists in Lachipura area of Uri sector and foiled an infiltration bid.
Defence Minister A K Antony has shot down Commerce Ministry's proposal to raise Foreign Direct Investment in defence from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, saying it will be a "retrograde" step and "stymie" the growth of the domestic industry while increasing dependence on foreign manufacturers.
'The handling of the pandemic, under this totally constitutional and legal three-level dictatorship, has begun to show its downside,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
The government cleared a multi-billion dollar deal for attack helicopters and heavy-lift choppers with American aviation giant Boeing.
'Modi personally provides the higher direction of the ministry and the minister then works with bureaucrats on implementation,' points out Aakar Patel.
With the United Progressive Alliance-II's tenure coming to an end, France had wanted India to sign a pact to provide government guarantee for completion of negotiation for 126 fighter aircraft with Dassault company but Defence Minister A K Antony has refused to do so.
With an eye on beefing up maritime security, India is negotiating a deal with 24 countries for exchange of neutral merchant shipping data as it rolls out a national hub to tackle all aspects of coastal security to prevent another 26/11-like attack.
Dhanteras, the prime minister said, has become even more special.
'He consulted widely, both formally and informally and acted quickly on pragmatic suggestions.' 'To his credit, Parrikar took the initiative to reduce excessive litigation against armed forces veterans and widow over small sums of pensionary and disability benefits,' points out says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
This is the first deal for artillery guns since the Bofors scandal in 1980s.
Police identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmed, who officials said joined the Jaish in 2018.
The Congress vice president also alleged that the National Democratic Alliance government was delaying the Winter Session of Parliament as Modi was not ready to discuss the Rafale and Jay Shah issues in the House before the Gujarat polls.
The new minister must commit himself to supporting long-term defence plans or else defence modernisation will continue to lag and the growing military capabilities gap with China will assume ominous proportions, warns Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The army chief said that radicalisation in Kashmir was being addressed with a "lot of seriousness"
'What the price will reveal, since the India specific capabilities haven't changed since 2013, is how much the Modi government padded up the cost,' points out Mohan Guruswamy.
Taking potshots at the prime minister, Gandhi said he should stop talking about the past and start doing his work.
"Here, you have to answer to the country. You are not to make accusations here...," he said.
Why did Modi bypass the Cabinet before he committed India to the Rafale deal?
The Indian Navy is constrained by its lowest budgetary allocation since 2011-2012, reveals Ajai Shukla.
In his hunger for power, the prime minister has forgotten raj dharma, the Congress alleged.
The government is looking into the complaints about the procedure to determine the winner of the multi-billion dollar combat aircraft deal, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Thursday while admitting that there was no money to sign such a big deal in this fiscal.
'It is the government's most important duty to ensure that when war breaks out, the armed forces are absolutely ready to face the adversary -- well equipped, well trained and in high spirits,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Here is an explainer and a timeline relating to India's purchase of 36 combat jets.
The defence ministry stressed that the purchase of 36 Rafales was 'strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects.' However, the DPP-mandated process had not been gone through when Modi announced the agreement on April 10, 2015,' observes Ajai Shukla.
Chidambaram said he feels that Dassault 'is laughing all the way to the bank', as the NDA government gave a 'gift'.
'The days when less government, more governance were spoken of are well and truly behind us.' 'More government, it is now believed, means more governance,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Pulling up Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for an inordinate delay of 14 years in the development and supply of a trainer aircraft, the CAG has observed that the time overrun has affected the Stage-II training of IAF pilots.
Boosting the army's war fighting capabilities along the Line of Actual Control, the government on Wednesday given a go ahead to the creation of a corps including deployment of 50,000 additional troops along the China border at a cost of around Rs 65,000 crore.
'You will see how tears again flow from the eyes of this actor 2-3 days before the elections,' he said.
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.
'There has to be strikes on the ISI headquarters to raze it to the ground figuratively and otherwise,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
Here's the lowdown of charges and counter-charges over the multi-dollar deal.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has asked the Indian Air Force to focus on safety and conservation of available resources as he interacted with top commanders in New Delhi just days after India decided to buy 36 Rafale jets.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances