In an unprecedented move, a letter signed by over 150 veterans — including three former Army chiefs, four former Navy chief and a retired Air Force chief — was sent to President Ram Nath Kovind. These veterans slammed the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party’s politicisation of the armed forces and its “unusual and completely unacceptable practice” of taking credit for military operations. Former Army Chief, General Shankar Roy Chowdhury‘s name featured as one of the first signatories.
Recently, speaking to Kinsuk Basu of The Telegraph, General (Retd.) Roy Chowdhury dubbed the seeking votes by citing the Balakot strikes as “very wrong” and said, “Voters don’t have to be told about the Pulwama attack. The Pulwama attack, if it is a factor in the election campaigning, speaks for itself.”
He added, “I don’t remember Indira Gandhi asking for votes on Bangladesh. But it came to her. The effect of Bangladesh was felt in her elections…. These are the effects of a war or a battle. And the government in office has to bear the burden or the glory that comes from it.”
Taking the comparison with Indira Gandhi further, he added, “Indira Gandhi also gained popularity from Bangladesh. Why not? The Congress party took advantage, and why not? The government in office gets all the credit for a victory. Similarly, the government gets the discredit for a defeat… So if the Balakot strike is a job well done by the Indian air force, well, then the government who ordered the strike… to go across the LoC… the government of the day takes credit for a victory and the discredit for defeat. It happens.”
Talking about Narendra Modi and the BJP, General (Retd.) Roy Chowdhury said, “Just that the language has gone bad. This type of language was never there, never at least in Indira Gandhi’s time…. The words that are now being pronounced… boro baaje laage shuntey (feels very bad to hear such words…”
He added, “Unfortunately, there are some people and what can we do about it? ‘Ramzada (born out of Ram)’ and ‘Haramzada (Illegitimately born)’ — how does it sound? Illiterate, it’s very jarring to the ears… but this seems to be the language of politics nowadays. No one wants to be called ‘Haramzada’.”
Also read: ‘Disgusting’, ‘Skullduggery’, ‘Tricks’: How Veterans Described ANI’s Lies About Lt Gen (Retd) Naidu
In their letter to the President, the veterans had written “With the General Elections round the corner, and given the prevailing environment where political parties and candidates seem to be acting in total disregard of the declaration of the ‘model code of conduct’, we fear that such incidents may only increase as polling day draws near.”
They had also urged the President to take “all necessary steps to urgently direct all political parties that they must forthwith desist from using the military, military uniforms or symbols, and any actions by military formations or personnel, for political purposes or to further their political agendas.”
(Read the full interview on The Telegraph)