Distrust between govt, army matter of serious concern: BJP

New Delhi: BJP today voiced serious concern over comments of former DGMO Lt Gen AK Choudhary that there may have been “distrust” between the Army and the government in connection with movement of Army units near Delhi in 2012.

Senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said though the government suffers from trust deficit in all sectors, the distrust with the army was never comprehended.

“The distrust between the government and the army is a matter of serious concern. Army protects the nation and assures to protects its citizen. If this type of reports come, it is a matter of serious concern,” he told reporters outside Parliament.

“We need to correct it and we will correct it if we come to power,” Prasad said.

Choudhary’s comments have triggered a fresh controversy over the movement of army units close to Delhi in 2012.

“There was misconception or there was perceptional difference or there may be distrust,” Choudhary said today after he was quoted in an interview, saying that the then defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma had asked him to send the troops back as the government at the highest level was “worried” over this.

However, National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon has dismissed the notion that there was distrust between the government and the army.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, “BJP is proud of the apolitical link of Indian Army. We are proud of its ethics and morals. Therefore, we would not like to comment on reports based on statements of somebody who has just retired because we believe in our armed forces.”

Javadekar said he has been a member of the parliamentary committee on defence and has seen the armed forces in real sense for the last four years.

“Therefore, I can say that we should not make a sensational news out of something. I don’t believe that Indian Army has anytime got politicised,” he told reporters.

PTI