Kasargod: Defence Minister A K Antony Inaugurates HAL Factory

Stephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod

Kasargod, Nov 17: Union minister for defence A K Antony on Saturday November 17 inaugurated the strategic electronics factory of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at Sitangoli here.

Addressing the gathering, Antony said that most people go to the Gulf and Western countries in search of greener pastures, and efforts should be made to retain them in their homeland.

"In this regard, HAL should generate sufficient employment so that people do not feel the need to go to Europe or America or the Gulf for jobs," he urged.

He said that the first phase of HAL has been constructed at a cost of Rs 60 crore and work on the second phase will begin at Sitangoli in a month or two.

"HAL next plans to start facility to manufacture war equipment at Sitangoli. The aim is make it the best aerospace in the entire country," he said.

Antony also said politics has hindered development in the region

On the controversy regarding his earlier statement at Brahmos Aerospace in Thirvananthapuram, wherein he had said that he did not have the courage to bring more units of his department into Kerala, he clarified that what he meant was that in Kerala, politics overtakes everything and that does not augur well.

"The media did a lot of interpretation on my statement I made at the BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited. What I meant was that if what is happening (trade union activities) at BrahMos happens at other defence units, it will not do any good for the state, for other similar units and for new units of my department," Antony said.

In the speech at BrahMos, he complimented the help extended to him by the then chief minister V.S.Achuthanandan and then state industries minister Elamaram Kareem. The media was full of reports that Antony was upset with how his close friend chief minister Oommen Chandy and state industries minister P K Kunhalikutty were running the government here.

"I made the statement because my only objective is to see that development should come first in our state, and then politics. Today the state is kept alive by the diaspora here who work in the Middle East and West," Antony said.

He pointed out that in 2007 when the defence department decided to take over the ailing state-owned public sector Keltec to be converted into BrahMos, it was done because of numerous representations from various political parties and the then Left government.

"The thing that was being heard was that BrahMos is a private company, which is not true because the Indian government owns 50.5 percent shares and the Russian government 49.5 percent," added Antony.

Chief minister Oomen Chandy also spoke on the occasion.

Kerala rural developmentt minister K C Joseph, P Karunakaran, Manjeshwar MLA P B Abdulla Razak, HAL chairman R K Tyagi, defence production secretary R K Mathur, Air Marshal P Kanakaraj, Kasargod DC Mohammed Sagir and others were present.