Modi slams Kapil Sibal over Akash tablet row

Ahmedabad, 30 September 2012

Speaking at his Vivekananda yatra, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today slammed union minister Kapil Sibbal and raised a question, “why Sibal has sent Akash tablet to me? He has sent this tablet to me from which budget??

Modi further raised series of questions, “Didn’t Sibal make an announcement to give cheap Akash tablet to 1 million youths of this country in year 2009? Didn’t he launch the prototype computer model in 2012 before the youths? Didn’t he show another model Akash-2? Didn’t he talk about giving Akash tablet to one lakh youths instead of earlier announcement of one million youths in 2012? Hasn’t he kept the youths sitting idle after making false promises and online registration? Shouldn’t Kapil Sibal answer who is responsible for the fact that Data wind used Akash tablet’s technology and sold 20 lakh tablets to earn Rs 700 crore from that? Has Sibal sent me the tablet to silence my voice against cheating, and practice of killing the dreams of the youth?”

Modi asked Sibal not to indulge in “cheap gimmicks” and instead make an honest effort to deliver the promised device to the youth in the country.

Modi’s comments came after Sibal shot off a letter and two tablets to the Gujarat chief minister who had criticised the “delay” in delivery of ‘Aakash’ to students.