Congress leader Jairam Ramesh (L), Pt Nehru climbing into first MiG-21 acquired by Air Force at Palam Airport (Picture: X/Indian Youth Congress)
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday credited erstwhile Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru for the MiG-21 fighter jets decommissioned today after the ceremonial flypast in Chandigarh.Recalling the MiG-21 pact signed between India and Russia in 1962, Ramesh said, “It was on August 22, 1962, that India and the USSR signed the MiG-21 pact. The agreement paved the way for deeper Indo-Soviet cooperation in the defence sector.; He reminded how Nehru withstood pressure from UK, US to clinch a deal with the then Soviet Union where the aircraft would be designed in India by HAL after technology transfer.”It was the Soviet acceptance of India’s conditions for local manufacture by HAL and technology transfer that had influenced the choice of the Soviet aircraft over its competitors from the UK, US, France, and Sweden,” he wrote.”There had been intense pressure from the US and UK, especially, but both Nehru and Menon held firm,” he added. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, in his farewell address to MiG-21 called the aircraft a testimony to India-Russia relations.The legendary Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighter jets, have been the backbone of the Indian Air Force’s combat fleet for more than six decades. It was the country’s first supersonic fighter and interceptor aircraft.MiG-21 jets, belonging to number 23 Squadron, took part in the flypast ceremony and were given a water cannon salute.
