Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on April 9, tore into the Congress, saying that while the Bharatiya Janata Party- (BJP-) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) wants the country to be a developed nation by 2047, its principal Opposition party’s manifesto seems to take India backwards.
“The vision of the NDA Government is to make India a developed nation by 2047. I believe it won’t be an exaggeration to say that the Congress’ manifesto will take India backwards,” Mr. Singh said in an exclusive conversation with ANI in Madurai.
Speaking about India’s strength in the field of Defence, the Union Minister said, “India has emerged as a strong player in the field of defence. All weapons, missiles, tanks, and ammunition that we used to import are now being exported. In 2014, we used to export ₹600 crore worth of defence items, today we are exporting more than ₹31,000 crore. In a few months, people will get to know how much we plan to export in the coming times.”
Comparing the track record of the BJP Government and the tenure of the Congress-led UPA government in the past, Mr. Singh said that there has not been a single case of corruption against the BJP. “In the last five years, our government has not faced a single case of corruption. If you see the tenure of the Congress Government, there were several allegations of corruption in the field of defence,” Mr. Singh said.
On India’s emergence as a strong economy in the world, Mr. Singh said, “The world is seeing that India is emerging as a strong economy in the world.” Slamming the Congress for repeated incidents of terrorism during its tenure, the Defence Minister said, “During [the] Congress’ rule, there were several incidents of terrorism and they used to say that such minor incidents of terrorism keep happening in the country. But you have seen that under the leadership of PM Modi, we have almost eliminated the problem of terrorism with a strong hand and seriousness.”
Boasting about the BJP’s achievement in combating terrorism, Mr. Singh said, “Earlier there were reports of terrorism in different States of the country. But today, leaving Kashmir, incidents of terrorism come to light rarely in one or two months.”
Hinting at incidents of cross-border insurgency from Pakistan, the Defence Minister said, “Even our neighbouring countries know that we are not the India that existed in earlier times. If anyone threatens us we are capable of giving a strong answer.”
Giving a final word on the Congress ‘Nyay Patra’, Mr. Singh said, “All I want to say about the Congress’ manifesto is, it is a regressive document. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifestos are progressive. There is a key difference between the two. It is nothing more than a cheque in a crashing bank.”
