Cong questions govt on why 'obsolete' AN-32 fleet of IAF was not replaced

The Congress expressed concern Wednesday over the safety and well-being of the IAF personnel on board an AN-32 aircraft that went missing in Arunachal Pradesh after taking off from Assam's Jorhat, and questioned the government on why it had not allocated resources to replace the obsolete AN-32 fleet.

Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the defence minister must answer why measures were not taken after the Indian Air Force (IAF) lost an AN-32 aircraft en route to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which was not tracked.

"Pray for safety and well-being of IAF personnel and crew of missing Aircraft AN-32. Sad to know that missing AN-32 had SOS Signal Unit that's OBSOLETE.

"Government must tell - Why was upgradation of AN-32 not completed despite India and Ukraine agreement of 2009?," Surjewala asked on Twitter.

He said the government and the defence ministry must also answer, "Why was the AN-32 flying on that treacherous terrain when we have a better aircraft to fly on that route. Why has the government not allocated sufficient defence budget to replace the AN-32 fleet."