With the drumbeat of elections looming, one cannot expect distinction and maturity in the political debate. Against this background one should look at the Raphael Agreement.
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With the Lok Sabha elections looming, discussions on any issue related to politics have begun, with no distinction and maturity expected. It is now very common and common for politicians to make any blatant statements and allegations to divert the voters. However, care must be taken to ensure that issues related to national security are not used as pawns in politics.
Georges Clemenceau, France's prime minister during World War I, said in a statement: "The war is a serious event that cannot be dismissed by the military alone." Similarly, issues related to national security cannot be left to politicians. Politicians pay very little attention to the seriousness of such security issues. It is unfortunate, therefore, that the issue of the purchase of the Raphael fighter jet is currently being debated by politicians, and even the most respected experts and scholars, who are well aware of its seriousness, have fallen into this trap.
It is not surprising that politicians have resorted to such statements to stay in the discussion for some time. But there are also a number of scholars and experts who are reaching the conclusion on the basis of exaggerated and factless speculations. Whose statements are more unreasonable or more daring than out-of-the-box statements. A few days back, a reputed expert scholar had stated that the deal with the French government to buy only 36 aircraft instead of 126 Rafale fighter jets has been scrapped by the Indian government. This has not only violated the security rules of the military, but also exposed the extraordinary inefficiency of the existing central government of India. He also compared the issue with the earlier denomination decision taken by the present government.
Whatever their views may be on the basis of this conclusion, the fact is that not everyone agrees with the government's decision to choose a particular company in the procurement process and to weigh its offset partner. . But how reasonable is it to raise the question of why fighter jets should be bought from abroad? In fact, Modi has been elected Prime Minister by a majority vote to take such a decision. Of course, this is what is expected from the supreme leader of the country. Similarly, those who sit outside and make statements will have no idea why and under what circumstances the government has to take such a decision. Therefore, asking the government to take action on the basis of the original decision can be a mere arrogance and raises doubts about its motives.
It is understandable that the present government should be blamed for the unforgivable neglect of modernization in the defense sector to date and for how much it could jeopardize the ability of the armed forces to fight a war. Who took seven years to decide on the Raphael plane purchase deal and yet could not complete it. On the contrary, using inefficient words about the previous government in this regard would also be a soft word.
Everyone will agree that India's defense procurement has not been riddled with corruption. And this tradition has been going on since independence. The infamous Jeep scam of 1948 is a case in point. Politicians have come to see the defense procurement deal as a pasture reserved for abundant fodder. At present, there is no transparency in this regard as there is no transparency in financial donations to political parties in our country. So while the Raphael deal is a deal between the governments of the two countries and there is no room for any other mediator in it, the allegations that are being made on this issue may have gotten the hands of the current central government officials to wet their hands. It has to be said here that the present government has traveled on the highways built by the previous governments. As a result, the Indian Air Force will suffer. Because in the tradition so far, the military has always been hit by such deals, and the politicians who fill their own pockets with those purchases have remained anonymous. This is exactly what happened at the time of the Bofors gun purchase.
The most important issue in such cases is accountability. Leaving aside the issue of the Raphael deal, we have to consider what could be the reasons behind the deteriorating condition of the Indian Air Force. Where our Air Force needs 42 squadrons today, that number has dwindled in the last two decades, with our Air Force having to work on more than 30 squadrons. Of course, the government is well aware of these shortcomings of the Air Force.
Like all machines, fighter jets eventually become obsolete and unusable. This means that this period can be extended by upgrading it. But one day they will have to be replaced by modern "next generation" aircraft. Only then can the country's air force maintain its modernity and break the deadlock of the enemy. Of course, it doesn't take much foresight to decide what needs to be done to take a clear stand on how to sustain the Air Force's lethality in this way. On the contrary, practical wisdom and understanding in this area is sufficient. But despite having a lot of resources at hand, the Indian government has never been able to implement a firm policy in this regard.
In fact, the responsible persons and officials must be held accountable for the neglect of the country's security issues and for throwing tactical material at the military. This is because it not only threatens the security of the country but also threatens the lives of the very best pilots of our country due to the use of quality fighter jets.
It has to be said that the senior officers of the Air Force are also to some extent responsible in all these cases. But the main culprit is the central government of the last few years and the main one is the defense department of that government. This is because the entire affairs of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) are run under this department. Due to this, decisions were not taken at the right time and governments did not insist on the decisions that were taken. The Indian Air Force was in dire need of fighter jets. And h. A. L. The company's production of light combat aircraft "Tejas", which can be made in India and therefore cheaper than the best, has been surprisingly delayed despite strong financial support from the government. H. A. L. This terrible delay has been a major reason for the purchase of foreign fighter jets.
Not long ago H.P. A. L. The unfortunate accident that took place during the upgrade of a Mirage-2000 aircraft in A. L. There is now a perception that there is no such thing as quality control in the aircraft industry. The primary reason for the crash was that the nose wheel in front of the plane broke while it was about to take off, and two very good pilots lost their lives in the unfortunate accident. This place reminds me of another accident. On the occasion of 2018 Army Day Parade, H. A. L. Three paratroopers from the Advanced Light Helicopter manufactured by fell to the ground and were seriously injured. This is because the strong point of the helicopter that tied the ropes with which they wanted to jump out of the helicopter had come off. It is not important to get an answer to the question of how many such incidents have taken place in the past. A. L. It is very important to know how many middle officials have been held accountable for their substandard work.
This, of course, suggests that the previous central government was unable to complete the deal for the purchase of the 129 fighter jets. The immediate reason behind the deal was that the Air Force officer class H.P. A. L. Dassault Aviation was unwilling to accept Raphael's fighter jets into its fleet unless it was sealed, and Dassault Aviation had denied the allegations. According to Dassault, he was willing to work with an offset partner company that had never tried his hand in the field before, but H.P. A. L. Shaking hands with Dassault was not acceptable. From this, you may have noticed the strength of government companies manufacturing defense equipment in India!
So from this whole process h. A. L. Politicians and practitioners who allege that the government's decision to exclude the company has missed out on a huge opportunity in terms of technology transfer are either knowingly manipulating it or have no idea what the real situation is. In this case, Rahul Gandhi has started a round of allegations. And even h. A. L. He also visited the staff of. It would have been more reasonable for them to have flown such a fighter jet themselves or to have taken the time to interact with the trained pilots who fly such advanced aircraft.
Chances are, of course, that he would have changed his mind and decided to keep national security issues out of politics. Finally, our leaders must remember that even if India gets the Raphael aircraft and starts using it, the huge mountain of problems facing the Air Force will not go away. Similarly, the question of how the remaining hundreds of fighter jets that the Air Force urgently needs will be met remains unanswered.
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