New Delhi, Jan. 5: The majority of ex-servicemen associations have extended support to the Congress ahead of the Assembly elections in five states, giving a fillip to the beleaguered party particularly in Punjab and Uttarakhand that have lakhs of families with serving and retired soldiers.

Today, the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) announced its support to the Congress, days after the Indian Ex-Servicemen League, a 4-lakh strong organisation recognized by an act of Parliament, and the Sanjha Morcha of Punjab did so. Ex-servicemen had supported the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The IESM, led by Maj. Gen. (retired) Satbir Singh, addressed a joint news conference with Congress leaders Amarinder Singh, the Punjab unit chief of the party, and the chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Virbhadra Singh and Harish Rawat, at the party headquarters in New Delhi and vowed to “expose” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “betrayal” and his government’s “insensitivity” towards soldiers.

The IESM has 25,802 full-time members and is the most influential among such outfits. Though not a union of soldiers or officers, the IESM is an umbrella organisation that coordinates with various soldiers’ outfits.

Criticising the Prime Minister for not fulfilling his commitments on the one-rank, one-pension(Orop) scheme, Satbir Singh said: “We have been protesting at Jantar Mantar for 571 days and nobody from the government has come to talk to us. The government’s approach is shameful; it has humiliated soldiers, who sacrifice their lives for the country. We thought making an intervention in the elections is an option before us. We will educate people on the betrayal by the Modi government.”

While ex-servicemen play a significant role in Punjab and Uttarakhand, their belligerent posturing has the potential of affecting the BJP’s pet plank of robust nationalism built on the heroics of soldiers, including the chest-thumping over the “surgical strike” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Amid chants of “shame, shame” by his colleagues, Satbir Singh said: “There is an old saying – ‘when a soldier has to go begging for his rights before the king, the king loses the moral right to rule’. Decorated soldiers are sitting on the road for 571 days, we knocked at every door, nobody listened.”

“Defence minister Manohar Parrikar once asked me: ‘Are you sitting there for money?’ I told him if a soldier is concerned about money, his body will not come back wrapped in the Tricolour. We live and die for the country, for dignity and honour. This government has gone back on its words, diluted the approved definition of Orop. We will expose them,” he added.

Amarinder Singh, a former Punjab chief minister and ex-serviceman who is fondly called Captain, hit out at the defence minister for his comments on the selection of the chief of army staff. “If Parrikar can’t keep his mouth shut on such matters, it’s time the PM chooses a man fit enough to look after our services, which are the last bastion of stability, secularism, and in whom the country across the board takes pride.”

Amarinder said an “ill-informed” defence minister was dangerous, adding that Parrikar should be aware that the services function according to a rank structure that indicates seniority and is adhered to by custom.

Parrikar said on Tuesday that intelligence inputs had also been considered while taking the decision on the appointment of the army chief.

The government has appointed General Bipin Rawat as army chief superseding two commanders – Eastern Army Commander Lt General Praveen Bakshi and Southern Army Commander Lt General P.M. Hariz. Parrikar has defended the decision, saying it was taken according to laid-down procedure.

Amarinder asked if the comments meant that intelligence inputs had cast aspersions on Generals Bakshi and Hariz. He said both were outstanding army commanders and soldiers of repute, and that “these foolish off-the-cuff remarks were an insult” to them.

The Congress leaders thanked the IESM for its support and promised to fight for soldiers’ demands. Amarinder announced a 21-point agenda for the welfare of defence personnel in Punjab. The agenda will be included in the Congress’s poll manifesto. The chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand too promised to adopt the agenda.

The agenda includes the establishment of an ex-servicemen cell, a separate department for ex-servicemen as guardians of governance, correct implementation of Orop, pay parity between the defence forces and Class A civil services and the removal of “anomalies” in the 7th Pay Commission.

पूर्व सैनिकों ने कांग्रेस के समर्थन का ऐलान किया

वन रैंक-वन पेंशन के मुद्दे पर 570 दिन से धरना दे रहे पूर्व सैनिकों के संगठन इंडियन एक्स सर्विसमैन मूवमेंट ने पांच राज्यों के विधानसभा चुनाव में कांग्रेस को समर्थन देने का ऐलान किया है। कांग्रेस ने भी पूर्व सैनिकों को वन रैंक-वन पेंशन की मांग को पूरा कराने के लिए केंद्र पर दबाव बनाने का आश्वासन दिया है।

पंजाब प्रदेश कांग्रेस कमेटी के अध्यक्ष कैप्टन अमरिंदर सिंह ने कहा कि पार्टी घोषणा पत्र में पूर्व सैनिकों के लिए कई योजनाओं का ऐलान करेगी। उत्तराखंड के मुख्यमंत्री हरीश रावत ने भी वादा किया कि सरकार पूर्व सैनिकों के कल्याण के सभी संभव कदम उठाएगी। उन्होंने पूर्व और मौजूदा सैनिकों के कल्याण के लिए समिति का गठन किया है। कोशिश है कि इन सैनिकों के परिवारों की समस्याओं को प्राथमिकता के आधार पर हल हो।

हिमाचल प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री वीरभद्र सिंह ने भी पूर्व सैनिकों की मांग का समर्थन किया। एक्स सर्विसमैन मूवमेंट के अध्यक्ष सेवानिवृत मेजर जनरल सतबीर सिंह ने कहा कि कांग्रेस ने वन रैंक-वन पेंशन की लड़ाई में साथ देने का वादा किया है। इसलिए चुनावी राज्य सहित पूरे देश में कांग्रेस का साथ देंगे।

जनरल सतबीर सिंह ने केंद्र पर वादाखिलाफी का आरोप लगाते हुए कहा कि सरकार ने वन रैंक-वन पेंशन की परिभाषा बदली है। पूर्व सैनिक 14 जून 15 से राजधानी के जंतर-मंतर पर धरना दे रहे हैं। पर सरकार की तरफ से कोई पूछने नहीं आया।

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Army personnel carry out rescue work in Mahazgund village of the Gurez sector. Tribune Photo

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 28

It is a tough task for the Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots flying Mi-17 helicopters from Srinagar every morning to retrieve bodies of 14 soldiers from the Gurez area that has received seven-ten feet snow. The inclement weather has been compelling them to return to their base without any success.The bodies of the soldiers, who died in snow avalanches, are lying at battalion headquarters at Neeru in the Gurez valley and helicopters have made umpteen sorties to access the area but to no avail.“We have been trying to airlift the bodies of the soldiers to Srinagar, but due to bad weather it could not happen,” said Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia. “Due to bad weather, no helicopter could take off on Saturday,” the he said.An Army officer said any plan to carry the mortal remains of the soldiers to their respective native places depended on transporting the bodies from Gurez.The Gurez valley in Bandipora district, over 150 km from Srinagar, remains cut off from the rest of the Kashmir valley for most part of the winter because of heavy snowfall. On January 25, in two avalanches in the Gurez sector close to the Line of Control (LoC), the Army lost 14 of its soldiers.The Army had identified the soldiers killed in Gurez avalanches as a Naib Subedar Aram Singh Gurjar of Karoli, Rajasthan; Havaldar Vijay Kumar Shukla of Murena, Madhya Pradesh; Naik Ajit Singh of Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Sepoy Azad Singh of Uttar Pradesh, Sepoy Devander Kumar Soni of Madhya Pradesh, Sepoy Elaverson B of Tamil Nadu, Sepoy Nagaraju Mamidi of Andhra Pradesh, Sepoy Samundare Vikas of Maharashtra, Sepoy Sandeep Kumar of Karnataka, Sepoy Sanju Suresh Khandare of Maharashtra, Sepoy Sundar Pandi of Tamil Nadu, Sepoy Sunil Patel of Gujarat and Craftsman Ankur Singh of Haryana.However, a helicopter was able to transport the body of Major Amit Sagar from Sonamarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, to Srinagar and an IAF aircraft later took the body to Delhi late on Saturday. Major Sagar died in a snow avalanche on January 25 at Sonamarg in Ganderbal on January 25.

Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi. — PTI file photo

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 13

Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, the Eastern Army Commander of the Indian Army, joined back his duties in Kolkata on Friday after cutting short his leave.The move comes after Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar sent across a stern message to Lt Gen Bakshi who had proceeded on a month-long leave on December 26 after he was superseded and General Bipin Rawat was appointed as Chief.The act of his taking leave after promising support to General Rawat had not gone down well with the Ministry of Defence.Lt Gen Bakshi will be attending the combined commanders conference slated in Dehradun on January 21, General Rawat today said at a press conference in New Delhi.

An old milestone on the Ferozepur-Lahore GT Road, reminiscent of the bygone era.

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, January 11

For the past over four decades, ahead of every polling season, leaders across the political spectrum used to raise the pitch for “Border khula diyange (Borders will be opened)”, perhaps to allure the electorate in this border constituency that shares the international border with Pakistan.However, call it an aftermath of the trans-LoC “surgical strikes” and subsequent aggressive demeanours exhibited by forces on either side of the fence, this catchphrase, which was considered a “magic wand” for the people of this area, has been “missing” from political rhetoric during these polls.“Earlier, this slogan was exploited to the hilt by every candidate. However, none of the politicians is talking about it this time,” said Dr Tirath Garg, political observer.“Not that people don’t want this border to open anymore, but probably given the strained relations between India and Pakistan, the “netas” prefer not to raise any controversy over this sensitive issue,” he added.Till date, all promises to re-open this Hussainiwala-Lahore route for trade and transit, which was closed after the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict, have proved hollow, believes local residents. “Every time, the elections were on the anvil, the candidates used to talk about the need to reopen this border,” said Malwinder Sodhi, a local farmer. Sodhi recalls that before the onset of hostilities in 1971, this border was the lifeline for traders engaged in import-export business of dry fruit, vegetables and other commodities. Besides, local cinema halls used to attract a lot of Pakistani visitors.But the border’s sudden closure sounded a death knell for the economic prosperity of this region. Since then, the residents of this area have been clamouring for its re-opening. “The opening of this border can open floodgates of prosperity for lakhs of people of the Malwa belt, but suddenly the matter has been put on back-burner,” says advocate JS Sodhi. “After waiting for more than four decades, it seems ‘Lahore dreams’ are now fading into oblivion,” he added.

New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) Congress today got a boost with a prominent ex-servicemen organisation lending support to it for the upcoming Assembly elections, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done “precious little” for their welfare.

The Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), which is spearheading an agitation for OROP implementation for last 571 days here, announced to support Congress in presence of PCC president Amarinder Singh and chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Virbhadra Singh and Harish Rawat respectively.

Speaking at the AICC headquarters, IESM chairman Maj Gen Satbir Singh (retd), hit out at the Prime Minister for not fulfilling his promise of granting OROP to all soldiers and accused the government of changing the definition of OROP as spelt out by Congress-led UPA before it was voted out of power.

In an apparent dig at the Prime Minister, he quoted Chanakya to say the king is not worthy of respect if a soldier has to go to him to seek something for him or his family.

Insisting that IESM, which is a federation of ex-servicemens organisations all over the country, has agreed to back Congress in the poll-going states as also elsewhere in the country as the party leadership has agreed to a charter of demands on OROP and related issues for welfare of soldiers, Satbir Singh said.

“Congress has given its agreement on implementation of OROP… We fully support the Congress in all the state in these elections,” he said.

The League has also taken upon itself for educating people to cast vote to those who fulfill their assurances. “We will be with you if you dont break our assurances,” he said.

Amarinder Singh said most of the ex-service organisations throughout the country will be working together for the benefit of the Congress.

He said the movement entered its 571st day of protest at Jantar Mantar, on issues which they feel as ex-servicemen are vital for welfare of servicemen, like OROP, 7th Pay Commission and most importantly the downgrading of precedence of various ranks of the Army in relation to civilian counterparts.

“The last issue is the biggest thing. The Izzat of a serviceman is more important than anything else. These issues are not limited just to Punjab. But, is affecting everybody,” he said.

Amarinder said there is great strength in servicemen. “We have all come on the same stage to work for benefit of all,” he said.

“We have agreed to an ESM cell at the Chief Ministers Office and we have started a new department called Guardians of Governance,” the PCC chief said.

“This will be a paid organisation which will employ ex-servicemen down to village-level and monitor how funds are spent. We hope this will help us improve the governance of Punjab,” he said. (MORE) PTI SKC/SPG DIP

THE DEFENCE MINISTER SAID IF SENIORITY WAS ONLY CRITERION THEN COMPUTER COULD HAVE SELECTED CHIEF ON BASIS OF DATE OF BIRTH

NEW DELHI: Barely a few days before the government named General Bipin Rawat as the new Army chief, Eastern Army commander Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi proceeded on a month’s leave till January 26.

Bakshi was overlooked for the army chief ’s post despite being the seniormost but expressed full support to Rawat.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday, however, said if seniority was the only criterion then a computer could have selected a service chief on the basis of date of birth and there was no need to follow the rigorous procedure spanning months. NEW DELHI: Eastern Army commander Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi may have pledged “full support” to army chief General Bipin Rawat but there hardly seems any possibility for cooperation in the coming weeks.

Bakshi, who was overlooked for the army chief ’s post despite being the seniormost, has gone on leave till January 26. It is rare for army commanders to go on long leave, a senior officer said.

South Block sources confirmed to HT that Bakshi had sought and was granted onemonth leave.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said if seniority was the only criterion then the computer could have selected a service chief on the basis of date of birth and there was no need to follow rigourous procedure spanning months, analyse Intelligence Bureau reports of candidates or seek the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

“There would be no requirement of any Raksha Mantri, there would no requirement of Cabinet Committee on Appointment because then it is a computer job. Date of birth decides who becomes General,” he said.

The Kolkata-based Eastern Command is responsible for guarding the line of actual control, India’s undefined border with China. Bakshi went on leave on December 27, raising a few eyebrows as his junior Rawat replaced General Dalbir Singh as the army chief four days later.

An Eastern Command spokesperson said Bakshi was on leave for “personal reasons”.

The duration of Bakshi’s leave was not known till now. On the day Rawat took over as chief, Bakshi extended his “best wishes and full support” to him, ending speculation that he may resign.

January is one of the most important months in the army calendar as several important ceremonial functions take place in the month, ranging from Army Day (January 15) celebrations to investiture ceremonies to Republic Day-related functions.

On December 31, Bakshi told officers over video conference that he would continue to serve with “full professional sincerity.” In promoting Rawat, the government ignored the seniority principle and the claims of Lieutenant Generals Bakshi and PM Hariz to the top job.

Playing down the controversial supersession, Parrikar said all candidates considered for the army chief ’s post were equally competent and due procedure was followed in making the appointment.

He told reporters that the procedure laid down for selecting service chiefs nowhere said seniority was the norm.

Bakshi and Hariz were commissioned in December 1977 and June 1978, while Rawat joined the army in December 1978. But Rawat’s experience in Kashmir and the Northeast tipped the scales in his favour. After taking over as army chief, Rawat said he had worked with both officers, had respect for them and everyone would cooperate to strengthen the army.

Superseded Lt Gen Bakshi goes on 30-day leave till R-Day

THE DEFENCE MINISTER SAID IF SENIORITY WAS ONLY CRITERION THEN COMPUTER COULD HAVE SELECTED CHIEF ON BASIS OF DATE OF BIRTH

From page 01 NEW DELHI: Eastern Army commander Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi may have pledged “full support” to army chief General Bipin Rawat but there hardly seems any possibility for cooperation in the coming weeks.

Bakshi, who was overlooked for the army chief ’s post despite being the seniormost, has gone on leave till January 26. It is rare for army commanders to go on long leave, a senior officer said.

South Block sources confirmed to HT that Bakshi had sought and was granted onemonth leave.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said if seniority was the only criterion then the computer could have selected a service chief on the basis of date of birth and there was no need to follow rigourous procedure spanning months, analyse Intelligence Bureau reports of candidates or seek the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

“There would be no requirement of any Raksha Mantri, there would no requirement of Cabinet Committee on Appointment because then it is a computer job. Date of birth decides who becomes General,” he said.

The Kolkata-based Eastern Command is responsible for guarding the line of actual control, India’s undefined border with China. Bakshi went on leave on December 27, raising a few eyebrows as his junior Rawat replaced General Dalbir Singh as the army chief four days later.

An Eastern Command spokesperson said Bakshi was on leave for “personal reasons”.

The duration of Bakshi’s leave was not known till now. On the day Rawat took over as chief, Bakshi extended his “best wishes and full support” to him, ending speculation that he may resign.

January is one of the most important months in the army calendar as several important ceremonial functions take place in the month, ranging from Army Day (January 15) celebrations to investiture ceremonies to Republic Day-related functions.

On December 31, Bakshi told officers over video conference that he would continue to serve with “full professional sincerity.” In promoting Rawat, the government ignored the seniority principle and the claims of Lieutenant Generals Bakshi and PM Hariz to the top job.

Playing down the controversial supersession, Parrikar said all candidates considered for the army chief ’s post were equally competent and due procedure was followed in making the appointment.

He told reporters that the procedure laid down for selecting service chiefs nowhere said seniority was the norm.

Bakshi and Hariz were commissioned in December 1977 and June 1978, while Rawat joined the army in December 1978. But Rawat’s experience in Kashmir and the Northeast tipped the scales in his favour. After taking over as army chief, Rawat said he had worked with both officers, had respect for them and everyone would cooperate to strengthen the army.