Congress, BJP spar over Rafale ‘shastra puja’

NEWDELHI: The Congress and BJP on Wednesday got into a war of words over defence minister Rajnath Singh’s shastra puja (weapon worship) on the first Rafale fighter jet delivered to India in France on Tuesday.

While Congress leaders called it a “drama” and accused the BJP of politicising the defence acquisition, Union home minister Amit Shah defended Singh, saying the ceremony was in keeping with Indian culture and traditions.

Speaking at a rally in Haryana, Shah took potshots at the Congress, saying it should ask whether or not shashtra puja is performed on Vijayadashami and ponder over what needs to be criticised and what not.

At a ceremony in Merignac (France) on Tuesday, Singh took delivery of the first of the 36 longawaited French-made Rafale jets. He performed puja on the aircraft, emblazoned it with an Om tilak and laid flowers and a coconut, just before he took a sortie in the two-seater jet.

After his reported comments terming Singh’s puja as “tamasha” (theatrics) provoked strong responses from the BJP and within his party, Congress general secretary Mallikarjuna Kharge clarified his statement. He insisted he was not referring to the puja but was questioning why politicians were getting involved in Rafale delivery and other technical matters.“i only said that in Rafale and other technical matters, it is the Air Force and the Army that deal with them and why are politicians getting involved,” he said. He insisted that he was not criticising shastra puja and his point was that the aircraft will still take at least 6-8 months to come to India.