NEW DELHI – Whipping up war hysteria by political parties and banking onthe military for political gains in India has irked dozens of veterans whohave now urged the president to take necessary action in this regard.
Over 150 armed forces personnel including three former Army chiefs and fourformer Navy chiefs have written to the President and Commander in Chief toprotest the manner in which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is “takingcredit for military operations like cross-border strikes, and even going sofar as to claim the Armed Forces to be ‘Modi ji ki Sena’”.
The letter, made public on April 11, urges President Ram Nath Kovind totake all necessary steps to urgently “direct all political parties thatthey must forthwith desist from using the military, military uniforms orsymbols, and any actions by military formations or personnel, for politicalpurposes or to further their political agendas.”
Speaking of the politicisation, Army men said that “some concerns havecaused considerable alarm and disquiet among both the serving and theretired personnel of our forces.”
The ex-servicemen also appealed to Ram Nath Kovind to ensure that the‘secular and a-political character of our Armed Forces’ is preserved.
Consent Not Taken
Although the letter is being published by leading Indian publicationsincluding The Wire, some of the individuals listed in the letter havedistanced themselves from the contents.
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General SF Rodrigues, the first on the list of names and a former Chief ofArmy Staff denied having signed the letter, saying “I don’t know what it(the letter) is all about. All my life, we’ve been apolitical. After 42years as officer, it’s a little late to change. I always put India first. Idon’t know who these people are, it is a classic manifestation of fakenews,” he told ANI.
Former Air Chief Marshal Nirmal Chandra Suri said his consent had not beentaken for the letter.
The General Election In India started on April 11th and would last till May19th; counting would begin and end on May 23rd.
The letter is in the pretext of whipping up nationalistic sentiments byruling BJP after the Pulwama attack in occupied-Kashmir in which over 40Indian soldiers were left dead.
Weeks after the attack, India and Pakistan engaged in an aerial dogfight inwhich Pakistan shot down two Indian fighter jets and captured a pilotABhinandan alive who was set free later.
