It appears that the government is in direct confrontation with the Opposition on the Rafale fighter aircraft deal. It is strange that the Prime Minister, who has been closely involved with the deal, maintains a stony silence while Ministers in his cabinet, some of whom have had no role in the deal, have been left to defend it. It is high time that all political parties realise that in trying to fulfil their political aspirations, they are also testing the patience of the general public. People have been shocked by several scams where public money has been misused by those in power. In its defence of the Rafale deal, the government cannot make the excuse of saying that previous governments (largely the Congress) too indulged in corruption. The point of national security cannot be used when convenient if asked about transparency in government dealings. There is definitely something amiss with the Rafale deal; there is the strong perception that proper procedures were not followed.
Rahul Choudhary,
Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Perturbed by the point-by-point replies by Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Congress and its allies have only a one-point agenda in Parliament: to create a ruckus in the House. This only shows that the Congress and the rest of the Opposition are scared of hearing the truth. If the government maintains a dignified silence, it is accused of being cowardly and having no answers. If it places the facts before the august House, the speech is obstructed. The Congress party is the mother of all scams in India. Therefore it sees everything with jaundiced eyes.
K.V. Seetharamaiah,
Hassan, Karnataka
