NEW DELHI: The army is “one team” and soldiers must make their complaints internally, General Rawat said, referring to recent videos of jawans. He announced the setting up of the Chief of Army Staff Redressal and Grievance Boxes. “Whoever has any complaint can tell me directly,” he said, adding that the identities of soldiers will be protected.
Army chief asks troops to have faith in seniors, promises grievance redressal in right earnest
From page 1 NEW DELHI: Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday asked soldiers to directly communicate their grievances to the force’s senior leadership rather than taking to social media, amid a few security personnel, including an army man, going public with their problems by circulating video clips.
“Let troops have confidence in the senior leadership. Their grievances will be addressed in right earnest,” Rawat said in his first press conference after taking over as the army chief on December 31.
He said he had issued orders for “suggestion and grievance” boxes to be installed at several places in the Army headquarters so that complaints could reach him directly, and a similar model would be replicated right down to the force’s lower formations.
Rawat’s comments came a day after a lance naik posted a video on social media condemning soldiers being employed as ‘sahayaks’ by officers. The chief said social media was a twin-edged weapon that could be both favourable and detrimental..
The army chief, however, said the ‘sahayak’ or ‘buddy system’ was an important part of the force’s culture as the officer and his buddy forge a personal relationship and take care of each other.
“If someone can’t perform a sahayak’s duties, they are let off,” he said.
Rawat said the soldiers should submit their grievances along with their names but their identities would not be revealed.
He said the army would not let a communication breakdown happen and soldiers’ problems would be resolved. If soldiers were dissatisfied with the handling of their grievances, they could use other channels, he added.
In a video clip released on Thursday, lance naik Yagya Pratap Singh, who is posted in Dehradun, said that after he wrote to the Prime Minister, the defence minister, the President and the Supreme Court last June, the PMO directed his brigade headquarters to look into his case.
He alleged victimisation at the hands of his superiors after the PMO intervened. ‘OVERLOOKED’ GENERAL CUT SHORTS LEAVE
Eastern army commander Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi — who was overlooked for the army chief ’s post — has cut short his leave and returned to office, army sources said. He had gone on one-month leave four days before his junior General Bipin Rawat took over as the chief on December 31.
In an address to officers of the Kolkata-based Eastern Command on December 31, Bakshi spoke of a smear campaign against him by “men in shadows” to deny him the top job.
In his first press meet as army chief, Rawat assured action if Bakshi formally approached him. POOR FOOD ALLEGATIONS NOT TRUE: MHA TO PMO
Union home ministry in a report to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has said the charge of sub-standard food levelled by BSF trooper in a video has been found to be untrue following an inquiry.
The ministry also told the PMO that there was no shortage of ration at any post in paramilitary forces and quality check was being conducted regularly, said sources.
The PMO had asked for the report after BSF tropper Tej Bahadur Yadav complained about the quality of food in a video which went viral.
A senior home ministry official also dismissed the charges of diversion of ration meant for jawans being sold in open market by seniors. “How is this possible? How can an officer posted at a highaltitude post divert ration to the open market? Who is there to buy it?” said the officer.
Initially, the ministry treated the issue in a humanitarian manner but on Friday home minister Rajnath Singh and home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi discussed the matter and in view of the possibility of more such videos coming out, it was decided that use of social media to flag grievances will be treated as indiscipline.
“The paramilitary forces have well-oiled grievance redressal system. The jawans need to exhaust these mechanisms first,” said a ministry official who was present in the meeting.