Admiral Ramdas said the armed forces do not belong to any individual, and claimed that veterans and those in service were upset with the UP Chief Minister’s comment. He considered it his duty to bring it to the notice that “we, the armed forces of the country, owe our allegiance only to the constitution.”
New Delhi: Former Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas (retired) on Monday said he will approach the Election Commission against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for referring to the Army as “Modi ji ki sena (Modi’s army)” at an election rally last week.
Admiral Ramdas said the armed forces do not belong to any individual, and claimed that veterans and those in service were upset with the UP Chief Minister’s comment.
“The armed forces do not belong to any one individual, they serve the country. Till the polls get over, the Chief Election Commissioner is the boss. I am going to approach the Election Commission in this regard,” Admiral Ramdas said.
At a rally in Ghaziabad on Sunday, Mr Adityanath referred to the Army as “Modi ji ki sena”, which triggered a political storm with sharp reactions from the opposition.
The remarks have also not gone down well with the military, with sources indicating that it was “upset”.
Lieutenant General HS Panag (retired) said the comments did not come as a surprise as such remarks have been made by politicians over the last five years in an attempt to link nationalism with the armed forces.
“Such comments lead to the politicization of the Army,” Lieutenant General Panag said. He said the Army remains apolitical.
On March 7, Ramdas had written a letter to the Election Commission, urging it to prevent the use of the Indian Armed Forces by political parties to influence the electorate.
“This was exactly the kind of development I was fearing when I wrote to you last month,” Admiral Ramdas observed and said that as one of the senior most former chiefs of the armed forces, he considered it his duty to bring it to the notice the fact that “we, the armed forces of the country, owe our allegiance only to the constitution.”
He expressed confidence that the Election Commission of India would take “suitable action” as soon as possible “to arrest such irresponsible actions”.
On March 9, the Election Commission instructed political parties to keep the country’s defence personnel out of election campaigning and not to use their photographs in advertisements. The order came following a Ministry of Defence complaint.
There had been instances of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders using Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s photo in election posters. Varthaman’s MiG-21 jet was downed by Pakistani F-16s over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on February 27 during a dogfight. The pilot was returned to India on March 1.