All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the commissioning of INS Vikrant, hoping that the aircraft carrier will give him the “courage to speak up about China, which has occupied 10 villages of our territory”.
PM Modi commissioned the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi on Friday morning.
As India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier was commissioned, Owaisi said that India will now have to think that we need a third carrier aircraft. However, PM Modi is not giving permission for the same, Owaisi said
“That is because he (PM Modi) has destroyed the economy of the country and has no money. We need 200 ships, but only have 130,” the Hyderabad MP told news agency ANI.
Owaisi further hoped that INS Vikrant will “give PM Modi the courage to speak up about China in the Parliament.”
“I also hope this INS Vikrant will give PM Modi the courage to speak up about China which has occupied 10 villages of our territory. Hope the INS will give him enough strength to take China’s name in the Parliament,” he added.
The commissioning of India’s maiden indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has put the country into a select league of countries with the domestic capability to develop such large vessels.
Soon after the launch, Congress attacked PM Modi for taking credit for the commissioning of INS Vikrant and accused him of “hypocrisy” for not recognising the contributions made by earlier governments.
Congress general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter and shared a video of former defence minister AK Antony launching INS Vikrant in August 2013 and said it just happens that the Modi government is in power when the aircraft carrier is being commissioned.
“Then defence minister AK Antony launched India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on 12.08.2013. The PM commissioned it today. A self-reliant (Aatmanirbhar) India existed before 2014. All other Prime Ministers would have acknowledged continuity in governance,” he tweeted.
