By raking up INS Viraat, PM Modi has provided a reminder that we must ask questions of those who wield power

Looking back, one thing stands out: Enough questions were asked of Rajiv Gandhi when he was in power. Today, more questions are asked of the Opposition.

narendra modi, ins viraat, modi ins viraat comment, rajiv gandhi, former prime minister, sonia gandhi, pm modi, prime minister narendra modi, modi in ramlila maidan, modi ramlila maidan, ins viraat remark, modi ins viraat remark, india news, Indian Express — Reading the archives of those years was a reminder that all you heard in the newsroom of that period was Fairfax, Thakkar commission, Bofors, Snam Progetti, cabinet meetings in Sariska and holidays in the Andamans one year, Lakshadweep the next. (Illustration: Suvajit Dey)

In the thick of his campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pulled out another arrow from his seemingly inexhaustible quiver. At a public meeting in Delhi, PM Modi said: “Have you ever heard that someone uses INS Viraat to enjoy a holiday? It happened when Rajiv Gandhi was the PM of this country. INS Viraat, which was deployed on the sea borders, was sent to facilitate a holiday for 10 days.” He also tweeted a report from January 1988, written in a news magazine, about that holiday. Forget for a moment why a long dead prime minister, and his holiday three decades ago, have suddenly become the theme of the Modi campaign. In any case, the news reports from that period do not suggest that the holiday was on the Viraat. It was on the island. Leave aside, too, the question how the prime minister got this wrong.