The BJP on Friday demanded that Defence Minister AK Antony to own up moral responsibility for 10 Naval accidents in 10 months and immediately tender his resignation from the Union Cabinet.
Addressing a Press conference the party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said the responsibility for "the sorry state of affairs" is that of the UPA Government as "it consistently neglected the Navy."
"The Naval Chief has resigned. The Defence Minister said that Naval Chief was 'disturbed' at the tragic happenings on this front. In reality the buck stops at the door of the Defence Minister. Therefore, the Defence Minister must take moral responsibility and resign forthwith", he said.
Javadekar said the neglect of the Navy are being pointed out by the Standing Committee on Defence in its various reports while discussing the Budget allocation and procurement equipments for the Navy.
He said the submarines are aged and in depleted conditions as they are procured more than quarter century ago.
Party dares Cong to open debate on economy
The BJP also challenged Congress to have an open debate on the economic contours of the party's economic vision as presented by its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. "The Congress, which is always eager to pick holes on tertiary points of his speech, has suddenly gone silent after a clear cut road map presented by Modi," Javadekar said