dna edit: Leaky state of affairs

The leak of a secret Army Board of Officers inquiry report onto alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Technical Services Division, a special unit raised by former Army chief VK Singh to conduct covert operations, has predictably raised a storm.

The report was submitted to the defence ministry in March but the timing of the leak coupled with the absence of any action on the report from the government raises a number of questions.

Among the report’s findings are that Rs1.19 crore was allegedly given to Jammu and Kashmir minister Ghulam Hassan Mir to topple the state government. The report also alleges that attempts were made to tarnish the reputation of fellow Army officers and that the TSD purchased interception equipment which was consequently destroyed just before General Singh demitted office.

The timing of the leak aside, the credibility of the internal inquiry has come into question. How could Mir, an independent MLA, topple a stable coalition government with just Rs1.19 crore? But the serious nature of the allegations does not sit well on the Indian Army’s tradition of being a non-political force that has always acknowledged the supremacy of the country’s republican government.

The contents of the report have given free rein to wild speculation.

Reputations are at stake and the government must release the report for public scrutiny or, if such a step undermines national security, a parliamentary committee must peruse the report and recommend a future course of action.

But our politicians must act with maturity and refrain from politicising the issue. Already, accusations have flown thick and fast that General Singh was being victimised for harbouring political ambitions and attending Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Rewari.

While the allegations of destabilising the J&K government are far-fetched it is a fact that the state’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and senior Army generals vehemently disagree with each other on the continuance of the Armed Forces Special Powers’ Act. Reports have surfaced on Saturday alleging that Kashmir police detected military surveillance activity targetting the state government.

Army generals have always had a larger-than-normal say in states like J&K and the North-Eastern states where the Army is heavily deployed. Some of them have even gone on to be appointed as governors after stints as commanding officers in insurgency-prone areas.

While the Indian government has confirmed the existence of the report, its inaction betrays the government’s confusion about how to deal with a sensitive apolitical institution that has rarely disappointed the government nor given it a reason to be distrusted.

This was evident in the way defence minister AK Antony dealt with the controversy over General Singh’s retirement age. His inability to take a stand led to widespread indignation among armed forces that the bureaucracy lords over the army in the name of civilian control.

While the government claims that it has taken steps to prevent “undesirable activities” by conducting regular financial audits and requiring clearances on purchase of technical equipment, it is clear that the only solution the government can propose is more bureaucratic controls over the military intelligence apparatus.

If anything, the present fiasco must initiate a fresh discourse on bringing intelligence agencies under Parliament’s ambit.