National security either a punching bag or funding source for Cong: PM Modi

Govt cheated the people, Supreme Court, says Opposition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the Congress, saying national security and defence sector were either a punching bag or a funding source for it.

Modi’s attack on the Opposition party came as the Congress accused the government of “misleading” the Supreme Court by presenting wrong information about the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) report on the Rafale deal and demanded that the government apologise for it.

The Congress has also said the Supreme Court, which gave the government relief in the Rafale jet case, has not gone into the pricing and technical aspects of the aircraft and it is only a joint parliamentary committee that can probe whether there was any irregularity in the deal.

Targeting the main Opposition party in an interaction with BJP workers from Tamil Nadu through video conference from New Delhi, Modi alleged the (Congress) leaders call the army chief names and mock the (2016) surgical strike.

“On the other hand, they have looted the defence sector from the jeep scam back in the 1940s and 50s to Bofors in the 80s, the AgustaWestland and submarine scam, among many others. All they see is the way to make money even if it means the morale of our forces is diminished. Sadly, for the Congress, national security and the defence sector are either a punching bag or a funding source,” he said.

Govt committed perjury: Cong

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the BJP has hoodwinked the nation and cheated the people and “now it has the guts to do the same to mislead the apex court”. “There is serious misrepresentation of vital, significant facts to the apex court. This amounts to contempt (of court), (breach of) privilege as well as perjury,” he told mediapersons in Mumbai. ‘Modi’ now stands for ‘Misleading Of Democratic Institutions’, he quipped. 

Centre’s claim wrong: Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, in Pune, termed as “absolutely wrong” the Centre’s claim in the Supreme Court, saying neither had the CAG studied the information nor had the Public Accounts Committee discussed it.