'Rahul Gandhi's remark on IAF pilots indicates his mindset'

Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani, on Saturday, hit out at Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his remark on Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots. Responding to the Congress president's comments that Rs 30,000 crore could be given to families of IAF pilots, Irani said that Rahul Gandhi's remarks indicate the mindset that death can be compensated for money.

Speaking at an event here, she said: "Ye (Rahul Gandhi) vo sajjan hain,jo ek sarvajanik manch par baith ke kehte hai ki agar tum shaheed ho jaoge toh main paise de dunga. Rajneeti chhodkar manavta ki dristi se dekhein toh iss sajjan ki mansikta ka ye sanket hai,'haan thik hai mar jaoge,paise bhej dunga' (Rahul Gandhi is a gentleman who, sitting on a public forum, says that if you (IAF pilots) die on duty, he would give money. Leave aside politics, if you look at it from a humanitarian angle, it indicates his mindset, that okay, if you are dead, we will send money)."

On Friday, addressing a press conference in New Delhi on the Rafale matter, Rahuk Gandhi had said, Rs 30,000 crore were given to Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence in the Rafale deal. This could have been given to you (pilots) when you died in a plane crash.

The Congress president was referring to a newspaper report which claimed that the Ministry of Defence had objected to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) negotiating with the French government over the price of Rafale aircraft.

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