Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Thursday described Rajiv Gandhi a martyr and said though the BJP respects him, that doesn't mean it won't talk about the "misrule and corruption" of his government.
She was backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his claim that the Gandhi family used the Navy's iconic aircraft carrier INS Viraat as its "personal taxi" when Rajiv Gandhi headed the Congress government in 1980s, to which the grand old party has raised strong objection.
Sitharaman claimed the issue related to the alleged misuse of INS Viraat by the Gandhi family had been in public domain for long and maintained that two leading national news magazines had written about it at length in 2013.
"The details regarding INS Viraat is in public domain. All know about it," the defence minister told reporters.
Sitharaman was replying to a query on Modi's claim that the Navy was made to host the Gandhi family and Rajiv Gandhi's in-laws, and a helicopter was also deployed in their service.
"INS Viraat was insulted by using it as a personal taxi. This happened when Rajiv Gandhi and his family was out for a 10-day vacation. INS Viraat was deployed for securing our maritime boundary. But it was diverted to take the Gandhi family which was out for a vacation," Modi had said at a poll rally in Delhi on Wednesday.
Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister from 1984 to 1989.
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"INS Viraat crew members have also accepted that Rajiv Gandhi, his family and his wife's family were ferried in the warship," Sitharaman claimed.
The defence minister alleged that the Congress had in the past misused the Army, Navy and the Air Force, and is now accusing the BJP of politicising the defence forces.
Asserting that Rajiv Gandhi was a prime minister who later became a martyr, Sitharaman said, "We respect him fully, but this does not mean we won't talk about his government's misrule, corruption and policies."
Asked about claims of surgical strikes under the UPA government, the defence minister said, "I won't comment on surgical strike claims of the pre-Modi government."