Armed forces should remain apolitical: Army Chief MM Naravane
New Delhi/IBNS: Newly appointed Army Chief General MM Naravane on Wednesday said that it is his duty to be apolitical when it comes to leading the armed force of the nation.
He said for him the Constitution is above everything else and he shall abide by the same in future.
This comes after his predecessor sparked off a controversy by purportedly criticising political leaders for "inciting violent protests" against the Citizenship Amendment Act over the last few weeks.
"The Army has always been apolitical and will remain apolitical. When we enroll in the Army, we take an oath to follow the Constitution and keep that above all," General Naravane, who was appointed to the position on Tuesday, told NDTV.
The Army Chief said he will ensure that his force is operationally ready to meet the attacks from the terrorists across the border in Pakistan.
"We know of terrorist camps and terrorism training taking place on the other side of the border. We will keep an eye on them and accordingly make plans to counter them," said he.
Meanwhile, taking charge as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said the armed forces stay away from politics and work only as per the government's directives.
"We keep ourselves away from politics and work as per the directives of the government in power," Gen. Rawat said.
He made the comment in the backdrop of the claims that the Armed forces are politicised.
Gen. Rawat being the Army chief few days ago had courted a controversy by making a political statement on the leaders who are protesting against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which will grant citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain but not Muslim refugees who came to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan before 2015.
Gen. Rawat had said, "When a leader moves forward, everybody follows. It is not that simple. It appears simple but it is a complex phenomenon...."
"Leaders are those who lead people in the right direction but not those who lead people in an inappropriate directions as we are witnessing in the large number of college and university students who are leading masses of crowds to carry out arson and violence in cities and towns. This is not leadership," he had said.
The post of CDS has been constituted for the first time in the country following the announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day.
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