"Rafale Deal Country's Biggest Ever Scam," Says Rahul Gandhi

Agencies
August 11, 2018

Raipur, Aug 11: Congress president Rahul Gandhi today termed the Rafale fighter jet deal as the country's "biggest ever" defence scam and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for it.

Addressing an event in Raipur, he claimed that the price of the Rafale jets "magically" rose from Rs. 540 to Rs. 1600 crore per piece.

India had signed an agreement in 2015 for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter planes from France.

"The UPA government had readied the Rafale contract, according to which the price for each jet was approximately Rs. 540 crore. The contract was ready and Modi ji only had to take a decision.

"But, Modi ji goes to France and scraps the previous contract and the Defence minister and other cabinet ministers do not know about it," Mr Gandhi said.

The Congress leader alleged that a contract related to the fighter deal was snatched from the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and given to a private company which has never made an aeroplane nor taken any defence contract.

"The company, which was given the contract, was in a debt of Rs. 45,000 crore," he claimed.

Mr Gandhi, while speaking after inaugrating the newly-constructed office of the party's state unit, also said that PM Modi has not yet spoken a word on the rape incidents in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.

The situation has not been as bad in the "last 3,000 years", he said while referring to the rape incidents.

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News Network
June 1,2020

New Delhi, Jun 1: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday asked airlines to allot seats in flights in such a manner that middle seats are kept vacant to the extent possible.

However, if a flyer has been allotted the middle seat due to a high passenger load "then additional protective equipment like the wrap-around gown of the Ministry of Textile approved standards" must be provided to that passenger in addition to three-layered face mask and face shield, said the DGCA order, which has been accessed by news agency.

India resumed its domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. International commercial passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: People protesting against the JNU violence were evicted from Gateway of India here on Tuesday morning as roads were getting blocked and tourists and common people were facing problems, a police official said.

Police had appealed to the protesters to shift but they didn't listen, so they were "relocated" to Azad Maidan, the official said.

Hundreds of people, including students, women and senior citizens - who assembled at the iconic Gateway of India since Sunday midnight - demanded action against the culprits and called for Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation.

Violence broke out in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi on Sunday night as masked men armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus.

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News Network
April 8,2020

New Delhi, Apr 8: The Supreme Court on Wednesday suggested that all tests to identify coronavirus positive patients should be conducted free of cost and asked the Central government to look into creating a mechanism for providing reimbursement for the same.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, while hearing a PIL via video-conferencing, suggested that the test should be conducted free of cost in the identified private laboratories and said that the court will pass appropriate order on the matter.

The apex court was hearing a PIL filed by lawyer and petitioner Shashank Deo Sudhi seeking direction to the Centre and other respective authorities to provide free of cost the testing facility for COVID-19 to all citizens in the country.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that 118 laboratories were doing 15,000 test capacity per day and added that 47 private laboratory chains have also been involved for the same.

During the hearing, the court asked the Centre to ensure private labs don't charge a high amount for the test and suggested that the government can create an effective mechanism for reimbursement from the government for tests.

Mehta said that they will look into the suggestion and will try to devise what can be done best.

Sudhi, on the other hand, submitted that testing of coronavirus is very expensive and therefore the Central government should take all necessary steps to provide free of cost the testing facility for COVID-19 kits and others to all citizens in the country.

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