Published 10:37 IST, October 9th 2019
Mevani's 'scientific temper' attack on Rajnath Singh's Shastra Puja
Jignesh Mevani has slammed the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a mocking tweet for the latter's Shastra Puja ceremony on the Rafale Fighter Jet in France
Jignesh Mewani has launched an attack on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a mocking tweet for the latter's Shastra Puja ceremony on the Rafale Fighter Jet in France. Attaching some pictures of the Rafale's Shastra Puja, Mewani tweeted, "India's Constitution tells that it is our duty to promote scientific temper in society. This how Hon’ble @rajnathsingh is implementing the Indian constitution. Our future generations shall remain obliged to such phenomenal creatures."
Opposition frowns on Rafale Shastra Puja
At a time when the country has been celebrating the induction of Rafale Combat Aircraft into Indian Air Force on the 87th Air Force Day which coincidentally fell on the same day as Dussehra and Vijayadashami when the Shastra Puja ritual is performed, several opposition party leaders have been mocking the Defence Minister for performing the Shastra Puja ritual giving it a communal spin. Besides Mewani, Congress leaders such as Alka Lamba and Sandeep Dikshit have also mocked the Shastra Puja performed by the Defense Minister.
Alka Lamba questioned the act of the Defence Minister in a tweet which said, "Today if former Defense Minister A.K Antony would have been the Minister of Defense or former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had got this fortune today, would he have taken the Bible and the Quran in his hands and would have done the same according to his religion, which the Defense Minister has done according to his religion? What would have happened?"
Congress' Sandeep Dikshit also expressed his dissent stating that the whole religious context of Vijayadashmi and the Rafale aircraft doesn't match. "It is a festival that all of us celebrate. Why do we have to link it with the coming of an aircraft?", said Dikshit.
India received it's first-ever Rafale
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received India's first Rafale combat aircraft, out of the 36 fighter jets ordered as part of the deal between India and France, on behalf of the IAF on Tuesday. Rajnath Singh travelled from Paris to Mérignac, and speaking from the Merignac Air Base, he said, "Today is truly a historic day for the Indian forces and this ceremony shows the depth of the strategic partnership in the relations of India and France." After officially receiving the aircraft, the Defence Minister also undertook a 25-minute sortie from the Merignac airbase in France.
Updated 12:59 IST, October 9th 2019