Jairam Ramesh leads Congress attempt to take a pie of BrahMos glory cake

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) Looking to share the honours for the stellar performance of BrahMos missile during Operation Sindoor, the Congress on Tuesday sought to emphasise the role played by the party in the development of the formidable weapon as part of the four-decade-old missile programme.

Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh took to social media to recall the history of BrahMos missiles and targeted the government for its alleged tendency to corner all the credit for the endeavours in the past.

“It is also yet another remarkable proof of continuity in governance which simply cannot be denied or erased - despite it being the regular habit of today's ruling establishment in New Delhi,” wrote Ramesh.

He also wrote about the missile’s nomenclature and milestones in its development, including Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurating the BrahMos HQ complex in Delhi in 2004, and induction into the Navy in 2005, the Army in 2007 and the IAF in 2012 during the UPA era.

Ramesh wrote, “It is named after the Brahmaputra and the Moskva rivers and is an outstanding example of Indo-Russian collaboration.”

The tussle to take credit for BrahMos and its induction into forces appears to have peaked after BJP leaders, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, recently praised the supersonic cruise missile’s performance during Operation Sindoor while inaugurating its new production facility in Lucknow.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation, talked about the effectiveness of ‘Made in India’ defence equipment that was decisively proven during Operation Sindoor.

Earlier, Ramesh, in his note on BrahMos, went back to India's Integrated Missile Development Programme, which began in 1983 under the Congress government.

He also highlighted the efforts of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “It was his leadership that led to the historic Indo-US nuclear agreement of 2005, paving the way for India finally joining the Missile Technology Control Regime eleven years later,” he said.

“It was also during his tenure that the BrahMos Integration Complex in Hyderabad and the Brahmos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited were established,” he said.

Developed by BrahMos Aerospace - a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya - the supersonic cruise missile boasts a range of 290 to 400 kilometres and can reach speeds up to Mach 2.8.

It can be launched from land, sea, or air and follows a "fire and forget" guidance system.

--IANS

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