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Doubts raised over HAL misleading, says Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

The Congress had on Sunday demanded resignation of the minister claiming that she "lied" on the floor of Lok Sabha.

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Even as Congress president Rahul Gandhi continued an all-out attack on Rafale and denial of contract to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday emphasised that her statement in Lok Sabha on orders worth Rs 1 lakh crore for HAL was not false. She said doubts raised by the Congress over her statement on HAL contracts as "incorrect and misleading".

In a brief statement in Lok Sabha, she said over Rs 26,000 crore worth of contracts have been awarded and work amounting to Rs 73,000 crore are in the pipeline. Her statement comes amid a political furore over her statement in the House regarding orders placed with the defence public sector undertaking.

The Congress had on Sunday demanded resignation of the minister claiming that she "lied" on the floor of Lok Sabha. Congress MP KC Venugopal said his party has moved a breach of privilege against the Defence Minister for "misleading the House".

Amid protests by the Opposition members, Sitharaman said, "I would like to set all doubts to rest... The doubts raised in this regard are incorrect and misleading." The minister said she has received confirmation from HAL that contracts amounting to more than Rs 26,570.80 crore have been signed between 2014-18.

As per the details she provided, the procurement order specifically mentions 83 Tejas aircraft worth Rs 50,000 crore, 15 combat helicopters worth Rs 3,000 crore, 200 helicopters worth Rs 20,000 crore, 19 Dornier transport aircraft worth Rs 3,400 crore, other helicopters worth Rs 15,000 crore, and aero engine worth Rs 8,400 crore. Orders worth Rs 73,000 crore are in the pipeline and all of them put together amount to Rs 1 lakh crore, she said.

"The above documents clearly confirm correctness of my statement made on the floor of the House and the doubts raised in this regard are incorrect and misleading," she said.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge quoted HAL CMD R Madhavan from a report to support his party's contention that the company was struggling financially and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter.

He claimed Sitharaman had sought to correct her statement and said wrong facts should not be put before the House. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal questioned if Kharge would authenticate the report he was quoting, while some other BJP leaders took a jibe at the party while referring to a defence dealer, who is wanted in criminal cases.

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