Be it LAC (Line of Actual Control) or LoC, we will take appropriate action and our soldiers are doing a commendable job at all fronts: General Rawat
Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Sunday said that jawans who take to social media to air their grievances could be punished as their act lowers the morale of those guarding the frontiers of the country.
He also said that despite Pakistan’s continuous engagement in proxy war against India, “we want to restore peace on the Line of Control (LoC)”. “But we will not hesitate from giving a fitting reply in case of any ceasefire violation,” he asserted.
The diktat came after a second video of an Army jawan alleging discrimination by officers surfaced on the social media. On Friday, while addressing a press conference, General Rawat said that he would prefer soldiers complaining directly to him. On Saturday, he clarified that there is no ban on smartphones in the forces.
Last week, Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh of 42 Infantry brigade expressed his grievances against the sahayak (orderly) system in the Army and how soldiers were forced to “wash clothes, polish boots and walk dogs” for seniors. He said that he was being victimised by his superiors for complaining against it.
On Saturday, a second jawan, nursing assistant Naik Ram Bhagat expressed concerns against discrimination in another video, in which he said: “It is not just his pain. It is the pain of the whole Army.”
Earlier, General Rawat strongly defended the sahayak system and announced a “suggestion and grievance” system at all formations through which soldiers could reach him directly without their identify being disclosed.
Bhagat came out in support of the BSF jawan, Tej Bahadur Yadav, who complained against the food being provided to them in a video on Facebook that went viral and forced the government to investigate the incident.
General Rawat was addressing the Army Day celebrations here, where he awarded gallantry medals to soldiers who showed extraordinary courage while performing duty.
On the terror menace, he said that in the last few months of 2016, the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has turned very volatile.
“Be it LAC (Line of Actual Control) or LoC, we will take appropriate action and our soldiers are doing a commendable job at all fronts,” he said.
“On the northern front, India wants peace with China. Both sides are adopting confidence building measures (CBMs) so that tension on the border can be reduced. Despite transgressions on LAC, the armies on both sides have improved on mutual coordination,” said General Rawat.
The Army Chief inspected the parade at the Field Marshal Cariappa Parade Ground here. What stole the show was combat demonstration by different schools of infantry which fired medium-range guns, besides battle tanks rolling past the parade.
“Eighty seven defence attaches from 35 countries, including the US, Japan, Russia, China, Israel and African nations marked their presence at the event,” said a senior army official.
The function came to an end with Indian Army’s Janbaaz motorcycle daredevils performing stunts and a team of paramotorists displaying tricolour and flags of the three defence forces.
(With PTI inputs)
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