After former Indian Navy chief Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas denied Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charge that Rajiv Gandhi had used India’s then solitary aircraft carrier INS Viraat to holiday in the Lakshadweep with his Indian and Italian friends and family, Navy veterans have gone on record to counter Ramdas.
Former Indian Navy commander V K Jaitly who was posted at INS Viraat in 1987 confirmed that Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi extensively used Indian Naval resources to celebrate their holidays at Bangaram island.
He added that a room was also readied for Rajiv and Sonia in the Admiral’s cabin and the ship was sent to Cochin to pick them up. He added that as the aircraft carrier doesn’t travel solitary it was also accompanied by other navy warships.
Former navy officer, Lieutenant Commander Harinder Sikka also confirmed the Gandhis using INS Viraat and also said that various Naval officers were not happy about the same but were forced to keep quiet, or they would have been booked for mutiny.
The officers were also worried about the then foreign national Sonia Gandhi openly roaming on the warship containing a variety of sensitive information.
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