Expressing concern over politicisation of the armed forces, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Wednesday the military should be kept away from politics. Reiterating that the military “should be somehow” kept away from politics, Rawat said the norm in the “good old days” was never to discuss women and politics in the forces. However, these subjects were gradually “inching” their way into the discourse and this should be avoided, the Army Chief added.
Maintaining that the armed forces operate in a secular environment, he also said the armed forces should stay away from politics and not “meddle” in it.
Making this observation, the Army Chief said linking of political entities with military establishment should be avoided. “Whenever (any) issue (of) linking any military establishment or military personnel where political entity comes in then... That is best avoided,” he said while speaking in a seminar on “Media as a force multiplier in national security.”
“The military should be somehow kept out of politics. Of late, we have been seeing that politicisation of the military has been taking place. I think we operate in a very secular environment. We have a very vibrant democracy where the military should stay far away from the polity,” he said.
In this regard, he urged the media to understand the issues and help the armed forces keeping away from such situations.
His remarks come in the backdrop of criticism of the armed forces when the Army was asked to build a foot over bridge in Mumbai. Moreover, eyebrows were also raised when the Army constructed a temporary pontoon bridge during an event organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the floodplains of river Yamuna in New Delhi last year. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and some other political leaders had questioned the deployment of the Army for constructing the foot over bridge in Mumbai.
When asked about the Army’s involvement in building the over bridge in Mumbai following a stampede two months back, Rawat said there is a charter of aid to civilians under which the armed forces help out in times of crises like floods and earthquakes.