As many as 156 veterans, who retired with senior ranks from the three armed forces, have written to President Ram Nath Kovind to act to ensure political parties did not misuse the military to “further their agendas”. The appeal follows widespread criticism of utterances by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other BJP leaders, who claimed Modi ki sena (army of Modi) had attacked targets in Pakistan.
Modi may try to use soldiers for votes, but it's clear that soldiers stand with India and not the BJP.
— Congress (@INCIndia) 12 April 2019
156 Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces including 8 former Chiefs of Staff write to the President of India urging him to act against Modi for trying to use soldiers for votes. https://t.co/NHUVDH2BeY
Eight of the signatories served as the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The letter is signed by three ex-chiefs of the Army (general S.F. Rodrigues, general Shankar Roy Chowdhury and general Deepak Kapoor) four ex-chiefs of the Indian Navy (admiral L. Ramdas, admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, admiral Arun Prakash and admiral Sureesh Mehta) and one former chief of the Air Force (air chief marshal N.C. Suri).
The letter, dated April 11, emphasised the “apolitical and secular nature of India's Armed Forces has been an article of faith for every soldier, sailor and airman”. The veterans claim they had a “finger on the pulse” of serving military personnel, who are not allowed to air their views on political issues. The letter refers to “concerns which have caused considerable alarm and disquiet among both serving and retired personnel”.
The veterans referred to the “unusual and completely unacceptable” practice of political leaders taking credit of operations like “cross-border strikes”. In addition to referring to the 'Modi ki sena' comments, the letter also talks of workers of political parties wearing military uniforms and using images of soldiers, in particular wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down a Pakistani fighter before his MiG-21 was downed in February.
The letter notes that the Election Commission's response to Adityanath on the 'Modi ki sena' comment had not resulted in “any substantive change of behaviour and practice on the ground”.
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The veterans noted that political parties and candidates “seem to be acting in total disregard” to the model code of conduct and feared such incidents of politicisation of the armed forces “would increase as polling day draws near”.
The veterans reminded Kovind that any misuse of the armed forces would “impinge adversely on the morale and fighting efficiency of the serving man and woman in uniform. It could therefore directly affect national security and national integrity.”
The veterans appealed to Kovind to “ensure the secular and apolitical character of our armed forces is preserved”.
