Personalising the Army

UTTAR PRADESH CM Yogi Adityanath has a knack for renaming places. Now, he has gone a step further by referring to the Army as ‘Modiji ki sena’, as if it’s the Prime Minister, not the President, who is the Supreme Commander of the armed forces. Adityanath made the remark while campaigning for none other than former Army Chief VK Singh, a minister in the NDA government. He said: “The Congress leaders would feed biryani to the terrorists, while ‘Modi’s army’ gives them bullets or bombs.” This brazen personalisation of the Services has expectedly drawn a sharp reaction from retired officers as well as opposition parties. Former Navy Chief Admiral L Ramdas has asserted that the armed forces don’t belong to any individual but to the nation, while Lt Gen HS Panag (retd) has said such comments could lead to politicisation of the Army.

The government has been quick to extract political mileage from the exemplary work done by the defence personnel, be it the surgical strikes after the Uri attack in 2016 or the recent Balakot airstrikes in the wake of the Pulwama carnage. The ASAT missile test, a landmark in defence research, was announced with great fanfare last week and touted as an achievement of the ruling dispensation, but the Election Commission (EC) did not consider it a violation of the model code of conduct. The EC went by the rule book. But these are political minefields open to diverse interpretations. 

Such lacunae embolden politicians to ‘appropriate’ national institutions for electoral gains. The EC needs to crack the whip — while acting within the ambit of the model code’s provisions — so as to discourage such practices. Irresponsible statements that denigrate the defenders of the nation can have a disturbing effect on their morale, besides straining ties between the military and political leadership. The Army, the Air Force and the Navy know their job pretty well and are known for taking decisive action for the sake of national security, no matter which party is in power. Piggybacking on the forces’ feats is not only unfair, but also unethical.