New Delhi: The tenure of Lok Sabha electiosn 2019 can also be termed as the tenure of controversies. Everyday a new row takes birth, be it tagging the PM as thief or be it tagging former PM as corrupt no. 1. In the race of controversy a new participant is now a statement uttered by PM Modi during a rally in Ramleela maidan on Wednesday.
PM Modi on Wednesday accused former PM Rajiv Gandhi of using India's premier warship, INS Viraat, as his "personal taxi" to go for a vacation to a special island with his family friends when he was PM.
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Modi said that the Indian Navy is present to secure the maritime boundary when it was recalled and made to serve the Gandhi family for 10 days. He added that an IAF helicopter and other government supplies were also put at the service of the family during that period.
PM Modi also took a jibe of quoting Rajiv Gandhi as ‘corrupt number one’. He said that those who ask for votes in the name of their ancestors get upset when someone talks about their deeds. PM Modi said in the rally, “Have you ever heard of anyone going on a family vacation on a naval warship? This has happened in our own country. The 'naamdaar' Congress family used INS Viraat as its personal taxi and insulted it.”
“Not only was the Gandhi family picked up by INS Viraat and taken to a special island, but also the warship also stayed with them for 10 days. Rajiv Gandhi was accompanied by his in-laws who had come from Italy. The question is whether the security of the country was not compromised by taking foreigners on board a warship.
As per reports the island was Bangaram in the Lakshwadeep archipelago. Among those who joined the then Prime Minister and his family on this trip in December 1987 were Sonia Gandhi's sister, brother-in-law and their children, her mother, four friends of Rahul and Priyanka, and actor Amitabh Bachchan, his wife, Jaya, and their children. The daughter of Amitabh's brother, Ajitabh, had also travelled with them.