Former defence minister and senior Congress leader AK Antony urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to stop politicising the counter insurgency operations of the Defence forces and alleged that Modi has sacrificed national interest. He said at a time like this, everyone must show solidarity and support the Armed Forces.

“Do not politicise the Army. They have no religion. They will accept the decisions of democratically elected institutions,” Antony said.

Antony said the PM is touring the country and spreading misinformation on Rafale deal. Citing the CAG reports, he said there were several complaints alleging irregularities in the price evaluation process, including complaints from BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha. “As Defence Minister, can I throw these complaints to the waste paper basket and allow the Ministry and Air Force to complete the process and send it to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS),” he asked. “Modi said the Rafale deal was delayed to get commission. But I was doing my duty as the Defence Minister of the country to protect the integrity of the procurement process which was going on. Let the country decide,” he added.

He said an expert committee recommended in March 2015 that the request for proposal for the procurement of aircraft be withdrawn. “They found irregularity in the L-I process.So, they categorically recommended that this must be withdrawn. What would have been the reaction of the Indian media at that time? What would have been the reaction of the NDA and Narendra Modi if we were in the government? What would have been the reaction of the CAG if we were in the government and we had rejected the report of the committee? Unfortunately, the CAG has not found fault with the government. But, I am surprised to know that the NDA Government did not discuss this report, either in the Defence Ministry or the CCS,” he added.

He urged the Prime Minister to answer why he ignored the report of the expert committee.