The photograph of Sidhu wearing the badges went viral in military groups on Whatsapp and attracted derisive remarks from military officers.
Punjab Tourism and Local Bodies Minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu, has earned the ire of the members of defence community after he appeared in a fashion show in New Delhi wearing a military style uniform which had Army’s Missile Badges on the collars.
The Minister’s dress was pointed out by a retired Army officer, Lt Col Manoj Chanan on Twitter who tweeted that “request Dy CM of Punjab not subscribe to demeaning military accoutrements”. Lt Col Channan got the designation of Sidhu wrong because he is not the Deputy CM of Punjab but he tagged Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh and Navjot Sidhu in the tweet through their respective twitter hjndles.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Lt Col Chanan said that the Missile Badge which Sidhu was wearing on the dress was earned by the few Army personnel who actually fire missiles. “There are clear cut rules that no Army uniform or accoutrement will be worn by civilians. The organisers of this event are also to be blamed. This gentleman being a senior politician of Punjab and a Minister should not have worn it. It sends a wrong signal to people who misuse Army uniforms. If you are so keen to wear uniform join Territorial Army (TA),” he said.
The photograph of Sidhu wearing the badges also went viral in military groups on Whatsapp and attracted derisive remarks from military officers.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was not available for comments but the Facebook page of designers Shantanu and Nikhil showed that they had held a fashion show in New Delhi on July 17 titled ‘The Regiment’. The comment on their page said that “The Regiment is out vision of belonging to something bigger than ourselves and its underlying modern Indian spirit. We derive our strength and inspiration from three strong virtues of the Indian armed forces-Discipline, Pride and Togetherness”.
The Facebook page also had a video in which Navjot Singh Sidhu says, “I feel strong, I feel powerful and I feel empowered. Look any good dress will give you confidence. You have to be a believer to be an achiever. It gives you belief. I have read in the Vedas that Uttam Vastra Dhari sabha mein dhaak jama leta hai. It emans that the first impression is walys your dress and personality. It attracts”.
