Nirmala Sitharaman had said recently that the UPA-era deal for 126 Rafales had fallen through because HAL did not have the capability to make the jets.
Bengaluru: At least 150 past and present employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) gathered at Bengaluru’s Minsk Square Saturday for an informal chat with Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
At the square, where HAL product Tejas stands as a proud exhibit, the participants expressed hurt at defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent statement that the UPA-era deal for 126 Rafales had fallen through because the state-owned manufacturer did not have the capability to make the jets.
There is also much heartburn over the fact that Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence, and not HAL, was given the offsets contract under the deal. Though experts say this was really a business decision on part of Rafale manufacturer Dassault, the opposition has alleged the move showed the government had overlooked HAL for the Ambani company.
HAL is the only entity in India that makes planes.
Also read: There’s a humongous scam in the Rafale deal. It is called stupidity
‘Protect our honour’
“What we want from influential leaders is to protect our honour,” said Sirajuddin, who was a HAL employee for decades. “We are not begging. We are saying that, based on our merits, our blood and sweat, give us our jobs. We are more than capable of manufacturing the Rafale.”
“We feel insulted,” Siraj told the crowd, which included several current employees who attended the event in defiance of the HAL administration’s orders against doing so.
“[We are] One of the biggest companies in the aviation industry. By saying that we are not competent, do you want to kill us?” he added. “Our engineers are outstanding, with years of experience, and you want to give this opportunity to a company that is just 12 days old?”
“We were shocked when we heard the government say this and it has hurt us deeply. We will not tolerate it,” he added.
Mahadevan, the working president of the All India Trade Union Congress, said HAL had been producing superior aircraft.
“Saying that the company is incapable of producing Rafales only questions our calibre,” he added.
“You are having a good fight and we are with you,” he told Gandhi. “HAL is legitimately entitled to the Rafale projects. What we need is a big campaign and we support the fact that it should not be given to a company that is 10 days or three months old.”
“I am here not because I belong to the Congress, but because I belong to this nation and the public sector,” he added.
Also read: The big questions about the Rafale deal you didn’t know whom to ask
‘Temples of modern India’
On his part, Gandhi said his party “will not rest until the issue reaches its logical conclusion”. “The temples of modern India are being destroyed because of the corruption Narendra Modi is doing to help his friend Anil Ambani,” he said.
“It is very clear here, that HAL has the experience and Anil Ambani does not have it, and the future has been taken away,” he added.
“We are here to defend people who are defending the nation against people who are defending the government,” said Gandhi.
There have been slippages of a few years in some of HAL’s important projects, true. The constructive way forward is for MoD and the IAF to sit with its top management, analyse why and where it is falling short, add to its capabilities. It is financially sound, has a track record newcomers will take decades to match.