New Delhi, September 16

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said she has no “grudge” against a group of Army officers who have approached the Supreme Court to present their views on cases relating to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

The Defence Minister said the officers have chosen to go to the court as there is a “certain sense of worry” in their minds which she can understand. In an unusual move, around 700 Army officers and soldiers have approached the Supreme Court, requesting it to protect the bonafide action of soldiers under AFSPA, and voicing concerns over the reported move to dilute some provisions of the law which protects the security forces from prosecution without the Centre’s approval.

“Grievance redressal is a right. I will never want to say if you have a grievance, you should not voice it. I will never say that. There are institutional mechanisms available for grievance redressal within the Army, Navy and Air Force. So it is possible for men or officers to have grievance redressal institutionalised within the forces,” she said.The Supreme Court has been hearing cases relating to alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur by the security forces. Army Chief General Bipin Rawat disapproved of the move by the serving officers and soldiers to approach the top court in their personal capacity. At the same time, he had said the forces and the defence ministry are steadfastly behind all officers who have conducted operations in J&K and North-East. — PTI

India won’t lower guard on China borderIndia will not lower its guard along the LAC, while maintaining border peace in sync with the “Wuhan” spirit, Nirmala Sitharaman, Defence Minister, has said. A month after talks with her Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, she said both sides recognise the broad decisions arrived at Wuhan, which should govern management of the border.

Air Force plans to make AP strategic base

• The Air Force has come up with major plans for Andhra Pradesh to make it a “strategic base”
• It plans to set up a helicopter training facility at Donakonda in Prakasam district and a facility for manufacturing drones in Anantapur district
• Besides, the Air Force plans to set up a cyber security centre in Amaravati and making Rajahmundry and Vijayawada airports asset positioning bases