A retired naval officer on Thursday, 9 May challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prove his allegations that aircraft carrier INS Viraat was used as a “personal taxi” by Rajiv Gandhi, when the latter was the PM.
On Twitter, Lt Cdr Gokul (Retd) said that Rajiv Gandhi had sailed on board INS Viraat from Lakshadweep islands enroute to Mangalore for a few hours, but Modi was lying about ‘ladies or foreigners’ being present at the time.
He added that he can provide ‘eyewitnesses to testify’ the veracity of his words.
Indian warships are not a pleasent place to be at. Any normal person will puke due to sea sickness on the living spaces of any Indian warship. And trust me that there are no luxuries onboard an aircraft carrier. So why would people so much pain to sail when they can fly?
— Lt Cdr Gokul (R) (@gokulchan) May 9, 2019
Gokul also said the navy keeps meticulous records of all activity on board naval ships, and asked Modi to check defence ministry records to substantiate his claims in the 15 days he has left in the PMO.
The retired lieutenant commander went on to say that Indian warships are not pleasant places to be in. People may develop sea sickness and vomiting inside the closed quartered living spaces.
Gokul said, “…there are no luxuries onboard an aircraft carrier.”
He questioned why would anyone opt to sail aboard an aircraft carrier and bear so much pain, when they can simply fly.
Prime ministers sail onboard naval ships. The best ship is assigned as flagship for this purpose. Fattu Modi would have never tried that but.
And yes INS Viraat was used for patrolling arabian sea as PM of India was in that area. Thats security measure.— Lt Cdr Gokul (R) (@gokulchan) May 9, 2019
Gokul accused Modi of using Indian Airforce (IAF) planes to travel for his personal tours and election campaigns. He asked are the airforce jets meant for BJP’s political rallies?
He hit out at Modi saying unlike him Rajiv Gandhi did not kill any soldiers to garner votes and Lok Sabha seats.
Modi uses IAF flights for his personal tours. Electioneering. Is IAF flights meant for BJP election meetings? Question it.
And Rajivji didnt kill any jawans to get votes and seats.— Lt Cdr Gokul (R) (@gokulchan) May 9, 2019
Gokul also appeared on TV9 Bharatvarsh to say that the men on board INS Viraat felt proud that PM Rajiv Gandhi had paid them a visit. He said that Modi was attacking great naval officers Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha (Retd) and Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas (Retd) who have come on record to say that his claims about Rajiv Gandhi’s visit are false
He added that there was no breach of protocol during Rajiv Gandhi’s short visit.
First time on a TV debate. Thanks @TV9Bharatvarsh for giving me an opportunity to tell a larger audiance that Modiji is a liar.
Hindi loving guys please pardon my Hindi.@Smita_Sharma pic.twitter.com/88mwcT2oL8— Lt Cdr Gokul (R) (@gokulchan) May 9, 2019
Earlier, Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha (Retd) who was the commanding officer of INS Viraat at the time, strongly denied Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claims saying they were “Totally wrong. Totally wrong.”
Former chief of Indian Navy Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas (Retd), who was present on board INS Viraat at the time, also issued a statement debunking the PM’s lies.
PTI had reported that PM Modi on Wednesday, 8 May, addressing his first poll rally in Delhi claimed that the Gandhi family used aircraft carrier INS Viraat as its “personal taxi” for a holiday, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister.
“Ever imagined that a premier warship of the Indian armed forces could be used as a taxi for a personal holiday? One dynasty did it,” he had said.
INS Viraat was commissioned into the Navy in 1987. After nearly 30 years of service, it was decommissioned in 2016.