‘Rafale is Your Right’ - Says Rahul Gandhi to HAL Employees
Indian Observer Post
Bengaluru, Oct 14, 2018: Escalating his campaign against the Modi government over the Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday accused it of destroying the “strategic asset” state-run aerospace company HAL and told its employees that “Rafale is your right.”
Giving a new twist to his high-pitch Rafale campaign, Gandhi sought to reach out to present and former HAL employees, alleging that “temples of modern India are being attacked and destroyed; we cannot allow it to be done.”
“Rafale is your right; you are a 78-year-old company.
You have the experience to build the plane,” the Congress president said at the event held at Minsk Square near the HAL headquarters, after hearing the former and present employees.
In his opening remarks, Rahul Gandhi said- “Namaskar! Thank you very much for inviting me here. It is an honour for me to come here. I want to begin by saying HAL for me is not just a company. It is not like any other ordinary company. When we got our independence, India built a couple of strategic assets. These assets were designed to enter particular spaces. IIT was a strategic asset to enter the higher education space. In the same way HAL is a strategic asset to take India in to the Aero space and so I would start by saying you are not an ordinary company, you are not just a regular company and with all my heart, I want to tell you; and I want to tell all the people who have worked in HAL before you that the work you have done in this company, the work you have done for this country is tremendous and the country owes its debt to you for protecting us and for creating a scientific atmosphere, a scientific vision for this country. You are part of that vision,” Rahul Gandhi Said.
He said it was “completely ridiculous” for the government to say that HAL did not have the required experience.
Gandhi told the gathering that he understood “deeply” that they were pained and hurt and “this is as important to me as any corruption or anything that has happened.”
“People who have given their lives, people who have stood by this country are feeling emotionally upset because they have been insulted.
I know that the government is not going to apologise, but on their behalf I apologise to you, even though I have nothing to do with it.
I understand that that you are hurt and I want to stand with you in your discomfort,” he said.
The gravamen of most of the employees who spoke was that HAL had the capability to make Rafale, but an attempt was being made to “dismantle” the defence PSU and the workers feel “hurt and let down,” he said.
Gandhi said the work done by HAL for the country was tremendous and the country owed a debt to it for “protecting us” and creating a scientific vision.
HAL is a strategic asset in aerospace, not an ordinary or regular company, he said.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Gandhi said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talked about lack of experience of HAL, but had said anything about the lack of experience of Anil Ambani, “who has been never built a plane in his life.”
“HAL has no debt, he has Rs 45,000 crore of debt. HAL has been working for 78 years. His company has been working for 12 days. So she has no comment about the person who got the contract. She has to comment about HAL’s experience.”
Gandhi demanded to know why the order was being taken away from HAL when it had all the experience.
“Why hasn’t the work being given to them? Why is HAL being destroyed by Anil Ambani…that is the question.
In his closing remarks Rahul Gandhi said- “There are a couple of questions that you have raised. Two lines struck in my mind. Number one is that these are the temples of modern India and what is happening is that the temples of modern India are being attacked and destroyed and we cannot allow that- by we, I mean you and all of us - cannot allow the temples of modern India to be destroyed. It is not going to be allowed. The second point that someone raised that you have worked now for 70 years. If somebody thinks that they can build their future on top of your graves that is also not going to be allowed. You have spent 70 years working, developing all this capability, we can see all these Advance Light Helicopters, we can see Tejas, we can see all these aircrafts that you built, it cannot be that- this is not worth anything. There is tremendous amount of experience that you have and this cannot just be destroyed or wiped out in this manner. So I want to make it very clear to you- I know you are fighting for this but please know that we are also going to fight for it, we are not going to allow it.”
He said the employees felt hurt over the fact that their hard work over the last 78 years, their patriotism, has been insulted and questioned by the government through the defence minister.
“So the first thing is that they expect an apology from the Defence Minister for insulting HAL.
We understand that the Defence Minister is not going to apologise,” he said.
On alleged corruption, he said HAL was one of the “modern temples” of India and it was being destroyed “because of corruption that Narendra Modi is doing to help Anil Ambani.
“Every single person here made it very clear that they have the experience. They have the understanding and Mr Anil Ambani does not have the understanding,” he said, referring to the HAL interaction.
We are here to defend the people who are defending the nation. From the government, we have to defend HAL,” he said.
Ahead of Gandhi’s interaction, HAL had issued an internal communication to its employees Friday, as a reminder on their obligations on conduct and discipline in the interest of the company.