Punjab CM says Army not for building bridges or cleaning roads, would set bad precedent

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. File photo

New Delhi/Mumbai, October 31

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has criticised the central government’s unprecedented decision to rope in the Indian Army for rebuilding the Elphinstone bridge in Mumbai as deplorable and an admission of the failure of the government and the Indian Railways.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The Army’s job is to train for war and protect the country’s borders, not to build bridges and clean the roads, said Captain Amarinder, warning against the serious implications of such misuse of the Indian Armed Forces by utilising their services for non-emergency civilian jobs.Whatever the urgency of the situation, it does not merit such a decision, which would have adverse long-term implications as it could encourage the civilian authorities to seek Army help for major civilian works every time they find themselves ill-equipped to handle an infrastructural or other challenge, the Chief Minister said, in a statement.Urging Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to refrain from diverting critical defence resources of the country to civilian works, the Chief Minister said it would set a bad precedent.The minister, said Amarinder, was making the same mistake that Major General BM Kaul, GOC of ‘Red Eagles’ 4th Division, had made before the 1962 war with China. The scandalous misuse, by him, of military manpower to build accommodation cost the Indian Army heavily during the Sino-Indian war, the Chief Minister said.Observing that these kind of acts led to severe downgradation of the defence services then, Captain Amarinder warned that the Army would end up suffering similar lowering of its status if the defence ministry does not withdraw its decision to use the armed forces for building civilian bridges in Mumbai.Citing reports that the Army’s services will be utilised in building a new bridge at Elphinstone station and at two other suburban train stations in Mumbai, the Chief Minister termed the move as atrocious, and said the central and state governments should put their own resources at the disposal of the Railways if the situation was so urgent and serious. The Defence Minister, instead of being party to this decision and announcing it with such pride, should have categorically rejected any such suggestion in the interest of the Armed forces, Amarinder said.