Sukhoi acquisition hallmark of MSY's tenure as defence minister

Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav will be remembered for his tough views on China and defence minister who helped in critical acquisitions for the Indian Air Force. Yadav had consistently maintained that China was 'the biggest threat' for India, a view echoed by fellow socialist George Fernandes, another defence minister.

Yadav's biggest contribution was to buy Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia, when he was defence minister in the Deve Gowda government. 1996-98 was a critical period for India and Russia, which was yet to stabilise after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Sukhois was the first big Indian defence acquisition after the breakup of the Soviet military infrastructure.

India could not purchase fighter jets at the time when the MiGs were ageing and western nations refused to sell Indian Air Force critical armoury. "It was a critical period in Russia's recent political history and India faced a challenge as well. Mulayam Singh Yadav played a stellar role in the acquisition of Sukhois," former envoy to Russia DB Venkatesh Varma told ET.


Former defence minister AK Antony said, "even though Yadav was the defence minister only for a brief period, none can forget his far sightedness. During every Parliament discussion on defence, he said 'be wary of China'; if not, it will be difficult to contain the damage. See how right he was!"