Modi praises Parrikar's reply to Agusta debate in Rajya Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday praised Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's response to the Rajya Sabha debate on the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal a day earlier.

"RM @manoharparrikar rose above politics & placed all relevant facts on the table. Urging you all to hear his speech," Modi tweeted.

"Yesterday's (Wednesday) speech by RM @manoharparrikar in the Rajya Sabha was one of the best speeches, displaying best parliamentary traditions," the prime minister added.

Parrikar on Wednesday, in around 45-minute reply, read out a detailed statement and gave a list of what was wrong in the AgustaWestland deal.

The defence minister said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is on a "money trail" and that in the past some "invisible hands" seemed to have been "guiding the actions" of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.

"The CBI, which registered an FIR in March 2013, did not bother to forward a copy of FIR to the ED for nine months. Even more strangely, the ED did not act on the FIR till July 2014," said Parrikar.

--IANS

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