Current Events :
Jammu, June 29
An old and rusted anti-tank mine, suspected to be of the 1971 war time, was found lying abandoned along the International Border in the Ramnagar sector of Samba district on Saturday.
Villagers spotted the suspicious object on the Basanter riverbed in Samba and informed the police about it. Soon, the police and Army reached the spot and started investigating the matter.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Samba, Koshal Sharma, said the mine was handed over to the Army. — OC
Srinagar, June 20 The Army on Thursday said its operations in Jammu and Kashmir are conducted in a professional and dedicated manner and the force had a code of conduct which valued human dignity.
“We have a very strong code of conduct which values human dignity and the values of society. So I wish to assure you that all the operations by the Army in Jammu and Kashmir are being carried out in a professional and dedicated manner,” Army’s northern command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a function at Wuzur in Anantnag district.
In response to a question, the Army commander said, “Wherever there are actions to be taken, those are taken at appropriate levels.”
Lt Gen Singh was at Army Goodwill School, Wuzur, which has been renamed after Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, who was awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously in January this year.
Wani was killed in an anti-insurgency operation at Batagund in Kulgam district on November 25, 2018. Six militants were killed, three of them by the militant-turned-soldier, in the operation.
He was awarded Ashok Chakra for his role in the operation, thereby becoming the first person from the Valley to be awarded the highest peacetime gallantry award of the country.
“It is a matter of great pride for us today to be here at Army Goodwill School at Wuzur because today we have dedicated this school to pay homage to our martyr late Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, who was a recipient of Ashok Chakra.
“He was also two-time recipient of the Sena medal for gallantry by the government,” Lt Gen Singh said.
On the functioning of the Army Goodwill schools in Kashmir, the Army commander said there are always some distractions which work against the interests of the country.
“It is to the credit of our children, their parents and our teachers that we have been able to ensure that there has been no disruption in the education, which we are trying to impart to the children in these schools,” he said.
“The children of Kashmir are our hope. We are sure that in the times to come they will work hard. They have a huge potential and they will become useful members of society and take us on the trajectory of growth and development as far as Kashmir and the nation are concerned,” he added. PTI
Srinagar, June 18
The Jaish-e-Mohammad militant whose car was used in the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers, was killed in a gunfight on Tuesday in Anantnag district, police said.
Sajad Ahmad Bhat was among the two militants who were killed in the gunfight on Tuesday morning in the district’s Waghama area.
“Sajad Ahmad Bhat alias Afzal Guru had joined militancy days before the Pulwama terror attack. He belonged to Marhama village in Anantnag,” police sources said.
A soldier was also killed in Tuesday’s gunfight. IANS
NEWDELHI: The Pakistani government appears to have taken some action over the last month against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and his brother-in-law Abdul Rahman Makki, and restrained the activities of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, in an apparent bid to placate the international community ahead of a crucial Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting this month.
FATF, a multilateral watchdog that monitors terror funding, will meet in Orlando, Florida on June 20-21, when Pakistan’s progress on a 27-point action plan is likely to be discussed — though a decision on whether it remains in the “grey list” or is downgraded into a “black list” is expected only by October when a 15-month deadline for Islamabad ends and the FATF meets for its plenary in Paris.
Makki was arrested by Pakistani authorities on May 15 and LeT chief Saeed was prevented from addressing a gathering at Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on Eid-ul-Fitr on Wednesday. This was clearly an ostensible move to project Pakistan’s “commitment” to act against terror groups before the FATF meeting, a person aware of the developments told HT.
Hafiz Saeed carries a $10 million reward on his head and Makki $2 million.
The Pakistani authorities have also asked Azhar and his brothers, Azhar Ibrahim and Rauf Asghar, to lie low with the former moving in and around Bhawalpur, the person quoted above added.
Rauf Asghar, who was put under preventive custody after the February 14 Pulwama suicide bombing, has been set free.
Apart from FATF, the US in March pressured Pakistan to take “tangible and irreversible action” against terrorist groups on its soil and deny safe haven to them to launch cross-border attacks. The development came as Washington reiterated its firm support to New Delhi in the fight against terrorism.
Pakistan’s new placatory moves also come against the backdrop of its attempts to secure a multi-billion dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund as it grapples with a staggering fiscal deficit.
Being on FATF’s “grey list” formally acknowledges Pakistan as a country where terrorist groups can carry out activities and raise funds. It is a label that makes foreign investment and loans from global financial institutions difficult. A downgrade to the “black list” could potentially lead to some sanctions.
India has kept up pressure against Pakistan at global forums, which led to several countries backing New Delhi and paving the way for the blacklisting of Azhar by the United Nations Security Council on May 1.
After serving for more than four decades, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba passed on the baton to Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, who took over as the Navy chief at a ceremony in South Block on Friday. The switch-over is taking place in the backdrop of a succession row triggered by Andaman and Nicobar command chief Bimal Verma challenging the appointment of Karambir Singh as the new chief. Verma’s plea against overlooking him for the top post despite being the senior-most officer is pending in the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) though the Defence Ministry has rejected his objection.
AFT on Wednesday allowed Karambir Singh to take over till a decision on the petition comes. Lanba’s retirement has led to changes at the top of the defence establishment. Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain took over as the eastern fleet commander from Karambir Singh.
Air Chief B.S. Dhanoa replaced Lanba as Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), a tri-service integrated body. A total of 49 ships and submarines are currently under construction in Indian shipyards, including the first indigenous aircraft carrier ‘Vikrant’, the statement said.
(With inputs from agencies)
Jerusalem, April 30
Israel on Tuesday honoured Lt. Gen. (retd) Jack Farj Rafael (JFR) Jacob, who negotiated the historic surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka after the 1971 Bangladesh’s liberation war, with a plaque on the Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill here.
Lt. Gen. Jacob, who died in 2016 at the age of 92, was one of the most prominent members of India’s relatively small Jewish community, serving as a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army and later as a Governor of two Indian states-Goa and Punjab.
The Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill pays tributes to the heroism and courage of Jewish soldiers who fought in the defence of their countries they lived in “implementing values of bravery, loyalty, commitment and dedication to a mission, leadership, creativity, camaraderie and sanctity of life”.
“The Wall has plaques honouring more than 340 people comprising privates, high ranking army officers, women, front line fighters and humble members of supporting units who embodied these virtues”, a senior official at the Ammunition Hill told PTI.
Ammunition Hill was a fortified Jordanian military post in the northern part of Jordanian ruled East Jerusalem. It was the site of one of the fiercest battles of the Six Day War in which 21 Israeli soldiers were killed. It is now a national memorial site where young soldiers and officers are inducted into the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and salute the flag.
The 90-feet high structure with a flag was incidentally donated by an Indian Jew, Sam Marshall, who also initiated the move to honour Lt. Gen. Jacob at the Ammunition Hill Wall of Honour, in association with India-born Jewish Judge, Abe Sofaer of the US, who was the personal legal adviser to former US Secretary of State George Shultz.
“It is a wonderful tribute that you are giving to a very fine human being. His beloved India gave him the accolades reserved for people serving the nation with distinction,” Lt. Gen. Jacob’s close friend, Marshall, told the gathering at a ceremony to unveil the plaque reminiscing the funeral ceremony Government of India arranged for its famous son where then President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were also present.
Narrating an incident from 2009 when Marshall, along with Lt. Gen. Jacob, met former Israeli President Shimon Peres, who offered the legendary warrior to immigrate to Israel, he said that prompt came Jacob’s reply, “I am a son of India, I would die on Indian soil, I served my country and my beloved country.” “He was not only a military strategist and a legendary General but a fine man who cared for fellow human beings. He was very active in charity work with Mother Teresa,” said Marshall, who has been bringing Indian contingents to the Jewish Macabbiah games (commonly referred to as the Jewish Olympics).
India’s Ambassador to Israel, Pavan Kapoor, said, “Lt. Gen. JFR Jacob’s illustrious life will remain a source of inspiration for all Indians. It is my belief that by unveiling the wall plaque here today, the memory of this great soldier and fine man will usher even greater bonds of friendship between the peoples of India and Israel”.
“Ammunition Hill commemorates the memory of the fallen soldiers of Israel as well as Jews living in other countries, in whose defense they fought. It is, therefore, a great privilege for me to be here today to honour the memory of one such soldier who served his mother country India with great distinction,” he said.
Highlighting Lt. Gen. Jacob’s contribution beyond the achievements as a military man, Kapoor said that “he had a strong sense of history and a deep respect for heritage”.
“When he was appointed as the General officer Commanding–in–Chief of the Eastern Command, in Calcutta, he set about restoring several heritage sites at the Headquarters of Eastern Command – Fort William – to their former splendour. One of them was St Peter’s Church, which had stopped being a house of worship for some time. He had the Church ceremonially de-consecrated, and had its facade restored to its original glory. Today, it hosts the Command Library in it,” he said.
“Lt. Gen. Jacob dedicated his entire life in the service of India. Proud as he was of being an Indian, he was also immensely aware of his Jewish heritage,” he said.
Israel’s former Ambassador to India Danny Carmon said, “For me, it was a pilgrimage to go and meet Lt. Gen. Jacob each time at his residence, to get his blessings, to get his encouragement. He was so happy to see what was happening in Indo-Israel relations. He was so much Indian and so much Jewish that it is unbelievable. He was a real inspiration for all of us.
“He was a bridge between India and Israel and contributed immensely to the partnership that we see in the last few decades. He told me, ‘I was born in India, served India, I fought for India and I want to be buried in India’.” Alon Wald, Director of Ammunition Hill, told PTI, that “the modest plaques for such giants of human beings is an inspiration to us all and adding one more significant name today is like adding an impressive strong link to the chain of values we stand for”.
The Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill has one more plaque honouring an Indian Jewish soldier, Lt. Gen. Joseph ‘Jerry’ Jhirad, who died in the 1965 war against Pakistan. – PTI
THE CENTRE PLANS TO RENOVATE THE HISTORICAL SITE BY CREATING BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR TOURISTS, INCLUDING 4-D THEATRE, LANDSCAPING, MODERN LIGHTING AND BEAUTIFICATION OF THE MEMORIAL
Amritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh was a desolate piece of land partly used for dumping garbage until British General Reginald Dyer oversaw the massacre of several hundred unarmed people gathered there on April 13, 1919, to protest against a draconian law that allowed internments without trial. The massacre etched Jallianwala Bagh in India’s collective memory and fuelled India’s struggle for complete independence from Britain.
HT ARCHIVE■ An artitst’s impression of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.Davinder Pal Singh, a Sikh scholar whose family has been running a shop for decades near Jallianwala Bagh, said the ground was cleaned for the protest against the Rowlatt Act before the massacre. He added the residents would dump garbage at a “sort of abandoned open ground”.
Darbari Lal, a former deputy speaker of Punjab assembly, said Sardar Himmat Singh Jallianwale owned the land. He said Jallianwale was a noble in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), who was from village Jalla in Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib.
“In 1919, Jallianwala Bagh was no garden, but a desolate piece of land… of irregular shape… [It was] about 250 yards long and 200 yards wide. Originally, however, it had been laid out as a garden in the middle of the 19th century…,” said Balwinder Singh, a former head of Guru Nanak Dev University’s Guru Ramdas School of Planning in Amritsar. He said it was uneven and a small strip of land near the entrance of Jallianwala Bagh was on a higher level. “…the rest of the land was lower by four to five feet.”
A narrow passage, which General Dyer used to make his way to the ground along with his soldiers, has been left intact with bullet marks on the walls of few structures and a well in the Jallianwala Bagh. Many had jumped into the well in a desperate attempt to save themselves as the soldiers showered bullets at them.
The British wanted to erase signs of the massacre, according to Lal. But national movement leader Madan Mohan Malaviya purchased the Jallianwala Bagh by raising around ~5.60 lakh through donations in August 1923. He led a committee that was formed to build a memorial to those killed in the massacre. The memorial could not be built as long as Britain ruled India until August 1947.
The country’s first president, Rajendra Prasad, inaugurated the memorial, which was built at a cost of over nine lakh, on April 13, 1961, in presence of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, according to Sukumar Mukherjee, the secretary of Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust. The trust manages the memorial.
The memorial’s central pylon is 30-feet-high with a four-sided tapering stature of red stone. It stands in the middle of a shallow tank built with 300 slabs with a carved Ashoka Chakra, the national emblem.
A stone lantern stands at each corner of the tank. On all four sides of the pylon the words, “in memory of martyrs, 13 April 1919”, has been inscribed in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English. A semi-circular verandah near Jallianwala Bagh’s main entrance marks the spot, where General Dyer’s soldiers took positions to fire at the gathering.
Rows of poplars and eucalyptus have been planted along the periphery to provide a green wall for isolating the view of the nearby houses.
Mukherjee said a martyrs gallery was established in 1972 under the guidance of Mohinder Singh Randhawa, a writer and former civil servant. A painting of the massacre as well as portraits of the political leaders of the time, too, is on display. In 2000, then Union minister Ram Nayak lighted the Amar Jyoti [Eternal flame] to commemorate those who died.
“Actually, we had the documents [ historical records, rare photographs and newspaper clippings] displayed openly in the room. The visitors used to touch them and spoil them by writing something. We felt this practice was damaging the original and rare documents. Then we displayed scanned formats of the documents in the museum,” said Mukherjee. A light and sound show was introduced in the garden by then defence minister AK Antony in 2010. At the time, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan recorded the voice-over for the 52-minute show, which attracted hordes of visitors in its initial run. But snags developed soon and it has not been functional since 2014.
The area has also undergone several changes. The entry has been given a new look with small bricks through the narrow passage is preserved. Mukherjee said the total area of the Jallianwala Bagh was around six-and-half acres and now it has gone up to seven acres.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a statue of Shaheed Udham Singh at the entrance of Jallianwala Bagh last year. Udham Singh was hanged in July 1940 for killing Michael O’Dwyer, who was Punjab’s lieutenant governor at the time of the massacre.
Rajya Sabha member Shwait Malik said Jallianwala Bagh needs a facelift and added that he has given ~10 lakh from his development fund for improving basic amenities there. He added the tendering process for the Centre’s plans of redeveloping it has started.
Malik said the Centre plans to renovate the historical site by creating better infrastructure for tourists. He added it would involve renovation, up gradation and beautification of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial.
Malik said a four-dimensional theatre with the sitting capacity of 70-80 people is also being set up for screening documentaries. He added the martyr gallery and the museum will be modernised with air conditioning. Malik said touch control panels would be installed along with LED screens and modern lighting. He added landscaping, too, would be carried out with the installation of and fountains.
FLASHBACK ‘Disgracing the British name’ and ‘Dyer’s dreadful mistakes’ were some of the searing headlines in the Australian newspapers a century ago when they reported the terrible tragedy at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. Manpreet K Singh delved into the old archives to reveal to how the press in Australia, then a British colony like India, audaciously reported the massacre and its aftermath while there was complete censorship imposed on the Indian press then.
MELBOURNE : Today marks the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which hundreds of unarmed Punjabis were shot down and more than 1,100 were injured during ten minutes of rifle fire from British Indian troops.
The firing was ordered by Colonel Reginald Dyer who came to be known as ‘the butcher of Amritsar’ and was relieved of military duties the year after the massacre.
At the time, Winston Churchill said in the British parliament, “it is an extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands out in singular and sinister isolation.”
In Australia it was reported as the day of “India’s Re-Birth”, describing the massacre as “Dyer’s dreadful mistake,” while it was later reported in 1927 that General Dyer died after suffering a stroke and being “5 years an invalid.”
The entire episode was extensively reported by Australian newspapers a century ago, despite complete press and mail censorship imposed in Punjab at the time.
By the time Australians heard of the carnage at Amritsar, almost a year had passed. Yet, it made headlines.
Sydney’s The Australian Worker called it an “an orgy of frightfulness in India” which was “disgracing the British name”. The Daily News of Perth reported it as “Dyer’s Dreadful mistake”, and in Melbourne The Age said the impact of the riot and massacre was “the Re-Birth of India”.
The Daily News of Perth republished an article on August, 16, 1920 titled ‘More About Amritsar: Dyer’s Dreadful Mistake’ in which writer Lovat Fraser cited the Battle of Saragarhi and other historical events to acknowledge the long standing relationship that the British enjoyed with Punjabis, especially Sikhs.
Fraser, the then-editor of Times of India, wrote, “General Dyer’s action at Jallianwala Bagh appears to have been entirely indefensible. He acted after open disorder had ceased in the city for two days; he gave no warning on the spot, but began firing within 30 seconds [of arriving]; and he was responsible for grave and unnecessary slaughter. His plea is that he wanted to produce ‘sufficient moral effect’ throughout the Punjab. Such was not his duty and the effect he has really produced is to create, not only in the Punjab, but throughout India, a bitterness that will take years to eradicate.”
ORDERS TO CRAWL, LASHINGS & BOMBING Many Australian newspapers described the harsh cruelties dealt by General Dyer in the few days preceding the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which also continued well after the bloody Baisakhi.
The Freeman’s Journal published in Sydney on September16, 1920 reported that Punjab, “although disturbed – and for good reason – but was not rebellious.” It drew attention to how Punjabis were treated by saying, “We do not exaggerate when we say that this province, a vital element in the British government of India, and the recruitment of it’s army, was simply trodden under foot.”
Page 7 of Freemans Journal published on 16 September 1920
The crawling order enforced on Punjabis and public lashings were described in greater detail in The Age on February 18, 1921.
Describing what happened on April 10, The Age reported, “One of the most shocking occurrences of that day was the ill-treatment by the mob of Miss Sherwood, a lady missionary, who was knocked off her bicycle on the streets, and brutally beaten with sticks, ultimately being left half dead on the roadway.”
It was on that afternoon that General Dyer arrived in Amritsar with the power to “take whatever steps he thought necessary for the re-establishment of civil control.”
The article describes what transpired in Jallianwala Bagh on April 13 in macabre detail, quoting General Dyer as saying, “This was a horrible duty I had to perform” adding “there could be no question of undue severity.”
“Following the proclamation of martial law at Amritsar, public floggings took place, the ‘curfew’ was instituted, numerous arrests were made, many natives were sentenced to death, and what were termed ‘minor punishments’ were inflicted. Some of these were of a ludicrous character, particularly the order which compelled every native who passed along the street in which Miss Sherwood had been assaulted, to crawl on his stomach.”
“So great was the outburst of indignation throughout India, and, indeed in Great Britain also, that a Commission was appointed in October 1919, to investigate the occurrence.”
Even so, General Dyer had a fair share of supporters and sympathisers, some of whom hailed him as a hero. Even after he was forced to leave the army, many donated funds which quickly reached £4,000, as reported by The Herald in Melbourne on August 14, 1920.
DYER A BROKEN MAN The Telegraph in Brisbane on October 17, 1927 described what happened to General Dyer thereafter. “The punishment inflicted on him as a result of the recommendations of the Hunter Committee was a serious one, as he was compelled to retire from the Army in 1920 and he was not confirmed to the rank of Brigadier General.”
Calling him “a broken man”, the newspaper article said he was “partly a victim of his own temperamental defects, but mainly the victim of lamentable indecision and timidity at Simla (the capital of British Raj at the time), and of gross political expediency at White Hall.”
It added, “The controversy told on General Dyer’s health, and from the time he was officially punished, he was broken in health and a doomed man.”
He died eight years after the Jallianwala massacre on July 24, 1927. His death was reported in many Australian newspapers and Perth’s The Daily News on October 24 ran with the headline “The Broken-hearted man, 5 years an invalid.”
It reported that Dyer “suffered a stroke nearly five years ago and had been an invalid ever since. He had been”unconscious for the last few days”.
MICHAEL O’ DWYER AND UDHAM SINGH’S REVENGE
Another prominent figure in the Jallianwala Bagh saga was Sir Michael O’Dywer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab from 1912 till 1919. He was knighted within a year of assuming charge of Punjab and was known to have completely supported and justified Dyer’s actions during the 1919 massacre.
O’Dwyer ordered the bombing of Gujranwala (another city in Punjab), days after the Jallianwala Bagh slaughter and was ultimately dismissed in 1920 for “cruel and barbarous actions.”
O’Dwyer was assassinated on March 13, 1940 by Udham Singh, an Indian freedom fighter, who sought to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. On March 15 1940, The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner’s Advocate reported, “Sir Michael O’Dwyer was shot through the heart during a meeting of East India Association at Caxton Hall, Westminster. Six shots were fired by a member of the audience.”
The newspaper also reported that in the same incident, “The Secretary of State of India Lord Zetland, and two other former governors of India, Lord Lamington and Sir Louise Dane were wounded”.
It led to the immediate “arrest of 37-year-old Mohamed Singh Azad (original name Udham Singh) who stated, ‘I made a protest’.”
Udham Singh, was tried and found guilty of murder. It was reported that he said in court of O’Dwyer’s death, “I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it. He was the real culprit. He wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I have crushed him. For full 21 years, I have been trying to seek vengeance. I am happy that I have done the job.”
Udham Singh, who went by the name Ram Mohamed Singh Azad, was hung to death on 31 July 1940. He is regarded as a hero of India’s freedom movement. His remains are preserved at the Jallianwala Bagh.
For a long form version of the article, log on to: https:// www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/article/2019/04/11/jallianwalabagh-massacre-throughaustralian-lens
A large number of people attended his last journey. — Tribune photograph
Deepender Deswal
Tribune News Service
Hisar, February 21
The body of the Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi was cremated with full military honours in his native Hisar town on Thursday.
Gandhi had died during a rehearsal for the Aero Show when two Hawk aircraft of the aerobatic team Surya Kiran collided midair in Bangaluru on Tuesday.
Earlier, his body was taken to Hisar airport from Delhi via helicopter and brought to his home at PLA Sector in the town today morning.
Gandhi is survived by his wife Himani and five-year-old son Riyan.
His father Madan Mohan Gandhi is a retired bank official, while mother Dr Sudesh Gandhi retired recently as a principal scientist from Ch Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. His elder brother Nitin is an engineer in Sweden.
Sahil joined the NDA after completing his 10+2 from the Campus School at HAU, Hisar, in 2000 and was commissioned in the IAF in 2004.
A large number of people, including local MP Dushyant Chautala, Rajya Sabha MP DP Vats, local MLA Kamal Gupta, IAF officers and district officials, attended his last journey and paid their respects to the departed soul.
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 2
Admiral L Ramdas (retd), a former Navy Chief, has shot off a protest letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora against the remark ‘Modi ji ki sena’ (Modi’s Army) by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at an election rally on Sunday.
“The armed forces are not a private entity belonging to any individual or political party and, therefore, any suggestion to that effect is completely unacceptable,” Admiral Ramdas said, asking the EC to take suitable action as soon as possible to arrest such irresponsible actions.
Separately, former Haryana IAS officer MG Devasahayam has sent a message to the EC saying: “The integrity of the armed forces is being compromised with to deceive people and secure votes.” He urged the Election Commission to initiate firm steps, including the suspension of the political party concerned.
Admiral Ramdas, who lives in Maharashtra, had some three weeks ago expressed concerns about the growing “politicisation of the armed forces by political parties”. The EC had issued guidelines advising political parties to refrain from using pictures or images of armed forces in their campaigning for the General Election.
At a rally on Sunday, Adityanath, while campaigning for sitting MP and Union minister VK Singh in Ghaziabad, said: “Congress people would feed biryani to terrorists while Modi’s army gives them bullets or bombs.” The remarks have also not gone down well with the military.
“This was exactly the kind of development I was fearing when I wrote to you last month,” said Admiral Ramdas. “As one of the seniormost former Chiefs of the armed forces, I consider it my duty and responsibility to bring to your notice the fact that we, the armed forces of the country, owe our allegiance only to the Constitution of India.”
