Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday gave an earful to Army Chief General Bipin Rawat for criticizing people leading protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), asking him to “mind his business.”
Speaking at a ‘Maha Rally’ organized in Thiruvananthapuram by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) against the CAA he asked, “Now, the Army General is being asked to speak up. Is it the job of the Army General?”
“It is not the business of the Army to tell politicians what we should do. Just as it is not our business to tell you how to fight a war. You fight war according to your ideas and we will manage the politics of the country,” he said.
“The DGP… the Army General are being asked to support the government. It is a shame. Let me appeal to General Rawat. You head the Army and mind your business… what politicians will do, politicians will do”, he added.
#WATCH P Chidambaram: DGP&Army General are being asked to support govt, it’s a shame. Let me appeal to Genaral Rawat,you head the Army&mind your business. It’s not business of Army to tell politicians what we should do, just as it’s not our business to tell you how to fight a war pic.twitter.com/MgjkeSPBPn
— ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2019
General Rawat, last week, had accused certain “leaders” of instigating people to indulge in violence during the CAA protests. He had said, “Leadership is all about leading. When you move forward, everybody follows… But leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate directions, as we are witnessing with a large number of students the way they are leading masses of crowds to carry out arson and violence in our cities and towns. This is not leadership.”
The Congress leader, slamming General Rawat’s statements, also voiced his support for the students who have taken the charge of this movement saying, “India’s students and youth decided to oppose this law because they understand the grave danger it poses to the Indian constitution. The Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens are conjoined twins that pose a direct threat to Muslims. The law is unconstitutional, and I’m sure that it will be struck down by the Supreme Court.”
General Rawat’s comment also drew flak from other Opposition leaders. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress leader in Lok Sabha also criticized the General for his statement.
He said –
Army Chief’s remark on CAA is highly objectionable, unethical and beyond his remit, he is appeared to be a BJP leader who is going to be promoted or rewarded as cds. Rawat needs to be restrained to maintain the impartiality of our army
— Adhir Chowdhury (@adhirrcinc) December 26, 2019
Manish Tewari, national spokesperson for the Congress said in a tweet, “Since when have Army Chiefs started commenting about internal affairs? It undermines Civil-Military Relations whose cornerstone is that Armed Forces neither comment nor interfere in domestic politics. This has been our singular success going back to 1947.”
Yashwant Sinha, the Former Minister for Finance and External Affairs tweeted –
There are many ways in which democratic norms are being destroyed in India. But Army Chief Bipin Rawat wading into the current political controversy is a new low. Must be nipped in the bud.
— Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) December 26, 2019
AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi too questioned General Rawat’s statements on the matter. He said, “Leadership is knowing the limits of one’s office. It is about understanding the idea of civilian supremacy and preserving the integrity of the institution that you head.”
Yogendra Yadav, the National President of Swaraj India too took a potshot at Rawat saying, “I agree with him. Yes, leaders should lead (people) in the appropriate direction. I am absolutely sure, he has the prime minister of this country in mind when talking about that.”
The General’s statement and the stinging attack on it by the Opposition has come at a time when the country is embroiled in turmoil over the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the implementation of a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). He has earlier too faced allegations of not remaining politically neutral and siding with the ruling government. Set to retire as the Army Chief on December 31, he is now tipped to become India’s first Chief of Defence Staff and be the one-point military advisor to the government on matters pertaining to the Army, Navy and Air Force.