Echo_419
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Is this really a controversy? He is flying in a military helicopter, not a charter or VVIP version what do you expect? Have you seen the insides of most military standard aircraft? They are stripped down to their bare bones and have hazards aplenty.
That said, the PM of India shouldn't be being ferried around in frontline military equipment like this. There is a dedicated SQN (IAF's communication SQN) that is charged with this that flies highly modified aircraft for this purpose (BBJs, EMB-145s etc). However, the Communication SQN's fleet of modified(for VVIP use) Mi-8s are all but grounded these days due to their age (>30 years old and should have been out of service years ago) so Modi is having to be flown in frontline IAF Mi-17s which is clearly unacceptable.
One has to blame AK Antony for this situation, one of the most infuritating things is that the world's best VVIP helicopters were delivered to India and remain sat grounded in Delhi:
Hopefully this sort of "controversy" (if it really is one) can spur some action on that front. As of yet no resolution exsits, the decks are cleared for reinstating the orginal contract with Augusta Westland and putting this entire sordid affair in the past but the current situation (inaction) is clealry unsustainable.
To be honest, the controversay should have exsited prior to this when it became clear the AW-101s wouldn't be put into service (thanks to the reckless actions of AK Antony) but the fleet they were meant to replace (already aged Mi-8s) were coming to end of their service lives (most reached that point in 2014). No one seemed to be interested in what was to be done to address this matter but the Indian media are clueless. Modi has been flown around in frontline IAF helos for more than a year now and every time his life has been put at uneccersary risk.
The already most "at risk" PM in India's histroy is being put are more risk everyday but where is the outrage? Remember it was the Indian media's sensationlism and TRP-hunting that led to the current situation (AK Antony taking the unprecedented step of unilaterally terminating the AW-101 deal as deliveries were being made) but they have paid no attention to the aftermath.
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