New Delhi: PM Modi is hell-bent on turning the election on its head – After pillorying Jawahar Lal Nehru and lampooning Rahul, he is throwing punches at Rajiv Gandhi. After the infamous ‘Bhra-shtachari number one’ remark, he hit out again at Rajiv and accused him of using Naval warship INS Viraat for his personal holiday in the Lakshadweep archipelago. “Have you ever heard that someone uses a naval warship — the INS Viraat — to enjoy a holiday? It happened when Rajiv Gandhi was the PM. The warship, which was deployed on maritime boundaries, was appropriated for a 10-day holiday,” PM Modi said during a rally in the national capital.
The prime minister also said that Rajiv Gandhi took his Italian in-laws along with him on the vacation on board INS Viraat. “Foreigners were allowed on the INS Viraat, was it not a compromise of National security? They put nation first and security of the Indian citizens second,” Modi pointed out, reports a news portal. The reference was to the Lakshadweep vacation the Gandhi family took in 1987. According to an India Today magazine report, the family had taken along a few of their Indian and international chums to the uninhabited island of Bangaram in the Lakshadweep archipelago. Though Rajiv Gandhi had offered to foot the bill of the vacation, the debatable point in the unsavoury controversy was the use of INS Viraat.
According to the India Today report, the warship’s daily expenditure at sea was astronomical as the Viraat travelled with an entire retinue of escort ships. A submarine was also reported to be in attendance and some defence experts questioned the justification of depriving the navy of its most effective fighting component merely to suit Rajiv’s holiday plans. Considerable expense was also incurred in setting up a special satellite link up at Agatti for the duration of the holiday, the report had said.
