BJP supporters await the arrival of Narendra Modi for a campaign rally in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday. Associated Press

Resmi Sivaram/Agencies

India’s main opposition Congress party on Thursday hit back with force at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his allegation that late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had misused a Navy warship for a family vacation, even as a retired vice-admiral clarified that Rajiv and family were on board the INS Virat only for an official tour.

Modi is using Indian Air Force (IAF) jets for his “own taxi” and paying “as low as” Rs744 for using them for election campaign, the Congress alleged.

Randeep Surjewala, the party’s chief spokesperson, cited a media report to attack the prime minister.

“Distraction and fakery is your last resort. You have made Indian Air Force jets your own Taxi! You have paid as low as Rs744 for using IAF jets for election trips!” Surjewala said.

“Scared of your own sins haunting you, you are shamelessly pointing fingers on others!” he said, citing Modi’s charge against Rajiv.

The media report on the use of IAF jets emerged on the basis of a reply provided under the Right to Information Act (RTI). It says Modi’s BJP paid a total of Rs14 million to the IAF for 240 “non-official domestic trips” made by Modi since the start of his tenure as prime minister in January 2014.

“In some cases, the amount paid seemed to be quite low. For example, the BJP paid Rs744 for a ‘H/P Balangir-H/P Patharchera’ trip by Modi on Jan.15, 2019,” the report said.

The BJP was yet to respond to the report.

Vice-Admiral Vinod Pasricha, meanwhile, asserted that Rajiv and his wife Sonia Gandhi had been on INS Virat on a two-day official tour and not a family vacation as Modi alleges. Paschira, who was in charge of the ship during 1984-89 when Rajiv was prime minister, said: “Nobody was on a holiday. Only Rahul Gandhi was with his family. No foreigner was with the PM.” Modi had claimed during campaigning in Delhi on Wednesday: “Ever imagined that a premier warship of the Indian armed forces could be used as a taxi for a personal holiday? One dynasty did it.” The Navy was made to host the Gandhi family and Rajiv Gandhi’s in-laws, and a helicopter was also deployed in their service, Modi claimed.

“INS Viraat was insulted by using it as a personal taxi. This happened when Rajiv Gandhi and his family was out for a 10-day vacation. INS Viraat was deployed for securing our maritime boundary. But it was diverted to take the Gandhi family which was out for a vacation,” Modi said.

He also claimed that after picking up the Gandhi family, INS Viraat halted at an island for 10 days.

Former Navy chief admiral L Ramdas also shot down Modi’s claim.

No ship was “specially diverted” for the personal use of the Gandhi family, neither were there any foreigners, he said.

“The prime minister was at Trivandrum as a chief guest for National Games prize distribution. He was going to Lakshadweep on official duty to chair a meeting of Islands Development Authority. This meeting is held alternately in Lakshadweep and Andamans. I then hosted a dinner for the prime minister that night. And there is a photo to confirm this,” he said in a statement.

Apparently sensing that it may miss the majority mark in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is understood to have already devised a plan to tap new allies and independents to enable it to meet the potential shortfall.

As part of the strategy, BJP is understood to have given the task of tapping new allies and independents to three senior leaders, sources aware of the developments say.

Among the parties that the BJP is eyeing to bridge the gap, in case it falls short of a legislative majority, are the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), the sources said.

Some smaller regional parties are also likely to be approached for support, depending on the requirement, the sources said.

The three BJP leaders will also get in touch with independents who win.

This comes amid a sense within the BJP leadership that the existing National Democratic Alliance (NDA) may fall short of 272 seats, the majority mark required to form the government.

BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav was the first leader to admit publicly, albeit in a veiled manner, that the BJP-led NDA could fall short of a majority in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

“If we get 271 seats on our own, we will be very happy,” Madhav said in an interview to Bloomberg last week.