NEW DELHI – The former chief of Indian naval staff Admiral L Ramdas haswritten a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) expressing’concern’ and ‘dismay’ on ‘recent instances’ of political parties usingarmed forces to “influence the electorate”.
Criticising the use of armed forces for votes, the former admiral said the“recent instances of using the armed forces for political gains, especiallyin the aftermath of both Pulwama and the strikes in Balakot” is against theethos of the armed forces.
“There should not be any misuse of these recent events by any politicalparty to send triumphalist or jingoistic messages which can influence theelectorate,” the former Indian Navy chief urged.
And it is in this context that as a responsible citizen and a veteran ofthe Indian Armed Forces, I share our collective sense of dismay and deepconcern at how some political parties are brazenly pushing their agendausing images, uniforms and other examples, showing pictures of the armedforces with political figures, in public spaces, in media, election ralliesand so on,” the letter added.