UPA’s hard work, credit to Modi?

As India celebrates the arrival of first five Rafale fighter jets, Modi government once again tried to take credit of efforts initiated by the UPA government. The Rafale deal was first initiated by the Congress Government in 2012 after the IAF had demanded these fighter Jets.BJP tried all its way to oppose and create hindrances to turn down the deal.Congress has tweeted to reminded that they had first initiated the talks to import Rafale jets from France.

Congress tweeted on Wednesday, ahead of the Rafale landing in Ambala, “We congratulate the Indian Air Force on receiving the Rafale jets. INC govt's labour in identifying & purchasing Rafale in 2012 have finally borne fruit.”

The party then went on to point out the difference between the Rafale deal finalised by the Manmohan Singh government and the final deal that was signed by the Modi government

Congress said, the stark difference between the Congress & BJP deal reveal the BJP's scam: The Congress Rafale purchase would have ensured India receives 126 jets instead of BJP's 36. 108 Rafale jets would have been Made in India. India would have received the Rafale jets by approx 2016.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slowly, but with sharp focus and political craftiness, appropriated much of the Congress-led governments’ welfare legacy. From Aadhaar to the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme, and from MGNREGS to rural housing — the Modi government has made several of the Congress’ marquee initiatives its own, helping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) project itself as the great saviour of rural India.

With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s rural booster shot through an additional Rs 40,000 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) — a rural job programme conceptualised and introduced by the UPA 1 government — Modi’s dispensation has underscored its commitment to the scheme and to use it to the hilt at the time of an unprecedented crisis.A hold over rural India was the strength of the Congress as a national party and now— Modi government is using Congress’ initiatives to lay the ground of its pro-welfare image.PM Modi has been repackaging most of the UPA initiated schemes and then marketing them as his own initiatives.

Just as the MGNREGA and Rafale deal, the BJP government seems to be more interested in taking credit of the efforts put in by Congress led government.