TUMAKURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took a veiled dig at the Opposition which had accused his government of ignoring Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in the Rafale fighter jet deal. He was addressing a public rally after dedicating HAL’s new Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) manufacturing facility spread across 615 acres, for which he had laid the foundation stone in 2016, at Bidarehallakaval near Tumakuru.
Indirectly referring to the Opposition Congress’ campaign in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when the party targeted his government over Rafale deal, the PM said that false propaganda to target the government has been defeated and those behind it are exposed.
“Falsehood, no matter how big, frequent or high, is always defeated in the face of truth. This factory and the rising strength of HAL has exposed the purveyors of falsehood. Reality is speaking for itself”, the PM remarked. He slammed the Opposition for making it an issue inside and outside the Parliament.
“Today, the same HAL is making Tejas for Indian armed forces and is a centre of global attraction, bolstering India’s Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the defence sector”, he remarked.He stressed that the spirit of ‘Nation First’ will assure the twin success of revamping the public sector enterprises and opening up opportunities for the private sector.