UPA lacked political will to boost border infrastructure: Nadda
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief J.P. Nadda attacked the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on the occasion of 21 years of Kargil victory, here on Sunday, for allegedly lacking the political will to bolster the border infrastructure and also for alleged defence scams during its rule.
Stating that he didn’t want to point fingers on the occasion of the Kargil Vijay Divas, Nadda said former Defence Minister A.K. Antony had said in Parliament India was lagging behind in terms of border infrastructure.
“In case of defence, we should know the reality. Yes, we were behind. Also, due to scandals then purchases (of weaponry) didn’t take place,” said Nadda addressing a gathering at the BJP headquarters.
He said either the UPA government lacked the political will or the acumen to meet the country’s defence needs.
“Today, we can say with pride that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over, 36 Rafale fighter jets have come,” said the BJP president.
Calling it the changing picture of defence preparedness, he said many Apache and Chinook helicopters had arrived, and bullet-proof jackets were being manufactured and exported from the country.
He said the Congress-led UPA government slept over 72 border projects, and added, all of them were “near completion” today under the leadership of Modi.
“Today other countries are worried because all border roads, tunnels and bridges are complete. Now we can take defence requirements to borders in a few hours,” he said comparing the NDA with the UPA.
While 3,610 km of border roads were built between 2008 and 2014, during the NDA rule (between 2014 and 2020) 4,764 km roads were completed, he said.
Underlining to the BJP’s pro-army outlook, he pointed to ‘one rank, one pension’ decision and said for every BJP worker “nation first” was the mantra.
“The Prime Minister visited Ladakh, spent the entire day there, held meetings, boosted the morale of soldiers and met injured jawans. It sent across the message that 130 crore Indians, under the leadership of Modi, were standing with the army,” Nadda said.
The BJP president also paid floral tributes to martyrs at BJP headquarters.