On March 3^rd, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Amethi in Uttar Pradesh to launch the joint venture (Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd ) between Indian Ordnance Factory and a Russian Firm to produce 7.47 lakh AK-203 rifles. This was looked into after the Ministry of Defence Request for Information for procurement of 6,50,000 assault rifles of 7.62×39 mm calibre under ‘Make in India’ program. The proposal to manufacture Kalashnikov rifle was cleared by the NDA government on February 14, 2019. This was confirmed by ANI.

It was also noticeable that Amethi is the home turf of Rahul Gandhi and this is the first time Modi is visiting the place after elections. Modi was accompanied by UP Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Smriti Irani and other ministers addressing the crowd. Modi said that Amethi will now be known for its AK-203 rifles ( a more improvised version of the AK-47 rifle ) production. He also claimed that it would be exported to other countries as well and this will create more job opportunities and strengthen the economy of the country. Modi passed criticism saying some people keep giving “made in speeches” but he will make “made in Amethi” a reality. He also mentions how the factory should have come into working around 8-9 years ago but that never happened. He even stated that 1500 people were supposed to be employed but only 200 were given the job. This was his main address regarding Amethi Ordnance Factory but he did address several other things and that can be accessed on the NDTV website where the main happenings of the event has been stated in order.

Following this event, Rahul Gandhi tweeted that Modi is lying and that he had laid the foundation for this Factory in 2010 and that the Factory has been manufacturing small weapons ever since.

Now there are two major mistakes in Rahul Gandhi’s claims. He was countered by Smriti Irani on Twitter saying that what Rahul Gandhi stated was a lie and that he does not even know the exact year in which he laid the foundation. She pointed out that he laid the foundation stone for the Ordnance Factory not in 2010 but in 2007.

Firstly, when verified, what Smriti Irani claimed is true. It can be seen that the day the foundation stone for the 41^st Ordinance Factory was laid was December 2, 2007. This can be confirmed by looking at the journal of the Indian Ordnance Factories Organisation in 2007.

Secondly, according to a note from the Defence Ministry, no products have been manufactured from the Ordnance Factory in Amethi and that only the Carbine production was planned there. Thus Rahul Gandhi’s claim about the foundation laid and the manufacturing of products both are proven false.

It is seen that there were many controversies surrounding the factory since the beginning. Initially, it was planned to manufacture CQB ( Close Quarter Battle ) Carbines. Firstly, according to a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report regarding the Ordnance Factories of 2011, the project was “injudicious”. The selection of the site was also considered inappropriate and according to the report, the project was likely to be delayed. Secondly, according to another CAG report, the initial investment for the manufacture of 45,000 carbines per year was 408 crore. Deadline for the project was October 2010 and it was later prolonged to March 2017. It is also given that 276 crore rupees was spent on the project as of March 2016 but the results were not as expected. Thus, the Factory was never put to good use and it did not yield the results expected of it.

Conclusion: Modi’s claim that no rifles were produced by the Ordnance Factory is true and Rahul Gandhi’s claim about laying the foundation for the factory in 2010 and manufacturing small weapons is completely false.