NEW DELHI: Taking a cue from their Western counterparts, where politicians get opportunities to be in the environment in which their armed forces work, Indian Members of Parliament would soon get onboard the lone aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy—INS Viraat—to get a firsthand experience of the country’s maritime prowess.
The MPs, also members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Defence, had requested Defence Minister A K Antony to allow them access to the Indian Navy’s warhorse to get a feel of how the armed forces function. On their ‘Day at Sea’, the navy will demonstrate its firepower and the politicians will get to see some live action.
According to sources, Congress MP from Kurukshetra and industrialist Naveen Jindal during the Consultative Committee’s meeting on September 26 mooted the proposal. He also recalled ‘experience of a lifetime’ when he was taken onboard the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
“The defence minister really liked the suggestion and has asked the navy to work out the programme for MPs’ ‘Day at Sea’,” the sources added. Besides Jindal, those who attended the meeting were Shivaji Adhalrao Patil, Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Harsh Vardhan, Lalit Mohan Suklabaidya, Gopal Singh Shekhawat, Dr Janardhan Waghmare, Balwant Alias Bal Apta, HK Dua, Ishwarlal Jain and Piyush Goyal.
INS Viraat, meaning giant in Sanskrit, is a 28,000-tonne Centaur class aircraft carrier. Originally commissioned in the British Royal Navy as HMS Hermes in November 1959, the warship was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1987.
INS Viraat is instrumental in projecting India’s naval and air power beyond its borders. It is a floating flying deck for the Sea Harrier fighter jets. It can carry up to 18 fighters and is suited for supporting amphibious operations and conducting anti-submarine warfare. Fighter jets landing and taking off from the aircraft carrier is a sight to be seen and requires the best of the skilled pilots.