‘INS Viraat was nowhere to be seen’: A first person account

Newslaundry reporter Gaurav Sarkar talks to Saif Habibullah, son of ex-administrator of Lakshadweep Wajahat Habibullah, about former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to the islands back in 1987, for which he allegedly used INS Viraat as “personal taxi”, as accused by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Saif was 13 years old and present in Kavaratti at the time of Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi’s visit. According to him, two events have been mixed up and confused to deliver a single narrative. He says that the Gandhis had arrived in Kavaratti via an Air Force helicopter to attend a two-day meeting of the Island Development Authority. After the meeting concluded, the duo departed for a family holiday to Bangaram, which is where Rahul, Priyanka, and some family friends including the Bachchans, met them. “INS Viraat was nowhere to be seen,” says Saif.

He goes on to say that the INS controversy has been politicised given it’s election time. He also talks about how Lakshadweep was not-so-easily accessible and severely underdeveloped back then, making it not a very ideal location for a holiday. “There was only one grocery store…most of the food supplies came from the mainland,” he recalls.

When asked about the holiday at Bangaram as well as the various lunches and dinners held at Kavaratti, Saif says: “It was a very informal and casual affair.”