INS Viraat was stationed in Lakshwadeep for security reasons: Habibullah

Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah Thursday dismissed the claims of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Rajiv Gandhi used INS Viraat as a "personal taxi" for a holiday with his friends and family and said the aircraft carrier was stationed in Lakshwadeep for security reasons.

Habibullah, who was administrator of Lakshwadeep from August 1987, recalled that the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had come to Kavaratti to attend a meeting of the Island Development Authority where the Island Development Council was to be inaugurated and no family member was present with him except his wife Sonia Gandhi.

After the inauguration, the Council had to meet members of the Union Cabinet in connection with setting up of panchayati raj institutions in the islands, Habibullah told PTI.

"Two things have been confused. There was a meeting of Island Development Authority in Kavaratti, which is the headquarters of Lakshwadeep. Second, after the official program, there was a holiday of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, his family and friends in Bangaram which is a separate island," he said.

The controversy erupted after Prime Minister Modi, at a rally here on Wednesday, accused the Gandhi family of using warship INS Viraat as its "personal taxi" for a holiday when Rajiv Gandhi was at the helm.

Habibullah said former Navy Chief Admiral Ramdas (Retd.) has also issued a statement that only Gandhi and his wife embarked onboard INS Viraat off Thiruvananthapuram en route to Lakshwadeep.

Habibullah said only Gandhi and his wife had come to Kavaratti on a military helicopter.

"My wife and I received him at the helipad. No other family member or friend of the Prime Minister were aboard that helicopter. I have photographs of the visit to substantiate that. While I was with the Prime Minister, my wife was giving company to Sonia Gandhi," he said.

He said members of the Union Cabinet had come to Kavaratti to attend the meeting with the newly-inaugurated Council and many ministers like Arjun Singh had brought their spouses along.

Habibullah said after the two-day-long official function, Rajiv Gandhi along with Sonia Gandhi left for Bangaram for holiday and joined his family and friends who were already waiting there.

He said the friends and family members had used the services of Pawan Hans helicopter from Thiruvananthapuram to Bangaram.

"INS Viraat or any other naval ship had nothing to do with that but naval presence was there because of security reasons as the prime minister was present. Whether it was INS Viraat or any other ship, I cannot remember," he said.

When asked about the recent comments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, Habibullah said, "He (Modi) should check facts before making such a statement."
At the rally on Wednesday, Modi had said, "Ever imagined that a premier warship of the Indian armed forces could be used as a taxi for a personal holiday? One dynasty did it."