Arun Jaitley
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Arun Jaitley, on Thursday, attacked former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Arun Jaitley said Naamdars used Navy “for personal vacations.”
“The Kaamdars use India’s Naval assets to strike at terror. The Naamdars use them for personal vacations with family and in-laws,” tweeted Arun Jaitley.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused then Prime Minster late Rajiv Gandhi of using aircraft carrier INS Viraat and its personnel for vacations with his foreigner in-laws.
He raked up the issue at a rally here to counter the attack by Congress leaders who say that defence forces have been politicised by the BJP, citing remarks by BJP leaders that "Modi ki sena" had carried out air strikes on a terror camp in Pakistan.
Addressing the gathering in Ramleela Maidan, Modi said, "Who has been treating the forces as personal property? ...have you ever heard that a family goes for holiday on a warship? This has happened in our country. The 'naamdar' family used INS Viraat as its personal property. They insulted it."
INS Viraat was withdrawn from its place of deployment and sent to fetch the in-laws of Rajiv Gandhi before it was taken to an island where nobody was there to welcome them and all arrangements for them were made by the personnel of the aircraft carrier, Modi alleged.
The holiday continued not for one day, but for 10 days during which the warship remained stationed there, Modi added.
Congress leaders, including its president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have hit out at Modi for his barb at their father, who was India's prime minister between 1984-89.
Earlier, Modi had dubbed Rajiv Gandhi as "bhrashtachari no 1" (corrupt no 1), in a reference to the Bofors scam.
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(With inputs from agencies)
