SECRECY DEAL BY UPA, NIRMALA TELLS RAHUL

P8| 1984 WAS LYNCHING, SAYS RAJNATH

Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday termed as “absolutely wrong” Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s claim that there was no confidentiality clause in the Rafale aircraft deal with France and said the initial agreement was signed when the UPA was in power in 2008.

Later, France also said a security agreement it concluded with India in 2008 legally binds the two countries to protect the classified information relating to operational capabilities of defence equipment.

Countering attacks on the BJP-led government over incidents of mob lynching, home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday tried to turn the tables on the Opposition in the Lok Sabha by claiming that the biggest example of mob lynching in Indian history were the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

Participating in the discussion on the noconfidence motion moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Lok Sabha against the government, Mr Singh hit back at the Congress, calling the anti-Sikh riots, that followed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, as the country’s “single biggest incident of mob lynching”.

Reiterating the Modi government’s commitment to do its bit to check lynchings, he said the Centre will provide all assistance required, but the state governments should take stringent steps to curb such incidents.

“The biggest incident of the mob-lynching happened during 1984,” Mr Singh said.

The minister said that the government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the 1984 riots and assured that justice would be given to the Sikh community.

While referring to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s “Hindu Pakistan” comment, said, “Where do they (Congress) want to take the country and what does it want India to become. Here, there is a talk about Hindu Taliban. India is the only country where minorities are prospering. Do they not want such an India.”

Mr Tharoor had recently sparked a controversy with his remark that India would become a “Hindu Pakistan” if the BJP returned to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Slamming the no-confidence motion proposal, Mr Singh said, “Against whom are you bringing no-confidence? The appeal of the PM is such that several people gave up the gas subsidy after he urged them do so. They (the Opposition) do not trust each other. And when it comes to talking about the leadership, then gayi bhains paani mein (they lose their steam),” he said.