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In his New Year eve address the eastern army commander said he was not resigning because he wanted to expose a conspiracy against him. The army commander began by wishing the new army chief all the very best and, three times in his address, termed the decision to appoint the new chief a 'political decision' which he abided by.
At around 11 am on December 31, shortly before General Bipin Rawat was to take over as the Indian army's 27th chief of the army staff, Eastern Army Commander Lt General Praveen Bakshi addressed his troops.
The half-hour video address broadcast from the Eastern Army Command headquarters in Fort William, Kolkata, to nearly 3,00,000 men under the Commander-in-Chief, was eagerly awaited for one reason.
The government had, on December 17, superseded Lt General Bakshi by appointing his junior Lt General Bipin Rawat as army chief. This was only the second deviation from the seniority principle for selecting the army chief in nearly 70 years. It was widely believed that General Bakshi would follow Lt General SK Sinha's precedent in 1983 when he resigned after being superseded by his junior General AK Vaidya. But General Bakshi, clearly, was no Lt General SK Sinha when he signaled "It will be work as usual," in his address.
The army commander began by wishing the new army chief all the very best and, three times in his address, termed the decision to appoint the new chief a 'political decision' which he abided by. If General Bakshi had ended his address with the good wishes, there would have been no controversy. But the latter part of his speech raised eyebrows within the army circles both for its content and portent.
Also read: Will continue to lead Eastern Command, says Lt General Praveen Bakshi
India Today has accessed a recording of General Bakshi's transcript where the general appeared to have, what one army officer termed, a 'spectacular meltdown'. General Bakshi declined to comment to an India Today questionnaire. An officer from the eastern command said that the speech reflected the general's 'personal views' and that the commander had nothing further to add to it.
In his speech on New Year eve, the general reeled out a bitter litany of complaints against the media and the veterans fraternity but what clearly caused him anguish was something else. He flagged, 'a malicious campaign, a deep rooted conspiracy', 'whispers in the corridors', carried out by 'men in the shadows'. The implication was clear, the conspirators had tarnished his reputation which possibly wounded his chance of becoming army chief. General Bakshi clarified he would now expose the 'enemies of the Indian army'.
The eastern command is second only to the northern command in troop numbers and responsibilities. The command borders four countries-China, Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh, nine Indian states, including four insurgency-ridden ones. Yet, there was just a passing reference to this in his address.
"I don't think, we in the Indian army who have been trained to fight our enemies can allow such people to survive in our own organization," General Bakshi said, hitting out at those he held responsible for his plight. "They need to be exposed... and that is why I shall continue though I shall be on leave, for the forseeable future."
Also read: Government may assign post at par with Army chief to superseded Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi
The army commander embarked on leave of absence for a month until January 29, during which period he is likely to miss out the army commander's conference beginning in Delhi on January 23. General Bakshi however, reminded his troops that he would be 'keeping my hands on the steering wheel of command'.
"I am falling into the trap of justifying my actions, that is not the intent of my talk..." he says, but then, goes on to do exactly that. 'Why I am not resigning' is a constant refrain, in explaining which, the commander's address goes on to sow its own set of conspiracy theories.
He puts to rest the controversy over his meetings with defence minister Manohar Parrikar on December 21 to clarify that he had sought no favors and was promised nothing in return.
The general speaks of procurements in the Eastern Command under his predecessors (Lt Generals VK Singh, Bikram Singh and Dalbir Singh, all of whom went on to become army chiefs) as averaging only Rs 3-4 crores whereas he spent Rs 85 crores on procurements in the past 18 months.
Also read: Lt General Praveen Bakshi to meet Manohar Parrikar to discuss his future
He mentions a series of anonymous letters which were written against him alleging corruption in these purchases and also his proximity to a former army vice chief who he invited to address the eastern command.
"The defence forces take no cognizance of such letters," says Lt General Raj Kadyan, former deputy chief of army staff. "And if it true that the government decision took cognizance of these letters, it is very unfortunate and we've harmed a good man."
"Nobody has questioned General Bakshi's ability to lead the Eastern Command, so it's alright for him to continue,"says Major General Surjit Singh (retired). "There have been several cases in other world armies of superseded generals serving on but if he starts the inquiries he has promised, then he will only be embarrassing himself."
Senior army officials confirmed that some anonymous letters had been received by defence minister Manohar Parrikar some months back. They were investigated by the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CDGDA) which found them to be untrue. General Bakshi in fact mentions this in his speech. While he continues his hunt against the alleged conspirators, there is one certainty. The eight months he will serve out are unlikely to be very quiet.
Also read: 'We will cross again'
HERE IS THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF GENERAL PRAVIN BAKSHI'S SPEECH :
(FIRST MINUTE UNCLEAR)
On your behalf, I offer full support to him (General Bipin Rawat). We wish him, for the new year dawning tomorrow, not only good cheer and good health, the sagacity, the professional acumen and the moral strength to guide our army to greater (heights).
I am completely in agreement with the political decision taken by our government. It is a political decision and we shall abide by it. There is no reason to question it, to dissect it in the public domain, in fact, if anything, the issue that saddens me is the trolling which is going on in the media and the environment. Whilst we cant really stop the media, curtail the media, while we cannot also, monitor social media, we shall not do that also.
People of our own fraternity, our veterans, have used this as an opportunity to come on the electronic media and dissect, talk about four serving Lt Generals, drawing their merits and demerits in the public domain. In my personal opinion, I think that was in very very poor taste. I sincerely hope that better sense prevails in the veterans, who may have held very high positions, but that does not give them the right, especially when, we, as serving generals, do not have access to the media to (give rebuttals) on whatever is coming in the media. They are welcome to talk about it. But comparisons in the public domain, are a big no-no. I hope better sense prevails in them and I see that it has already been conveyed to them, and they have from coming in the open media to draw comparisons of serving generals.
Having said that, there are certain things I would like to convey to you. First and foremost, my meeting with honorable Raksha Mantri. It has generated a fair amount of interest, controversy, controversy to the extent of who sought the meeting first which is immaterial, it is absolutely immateria but, nevertheless, that's what media does when I was in Delhi and going to meet the honorable Raksha Mantri, I found, on the TV channels,'General bakshi seeks meeting with RM'. I'm very grateful to the honorable Raksha Mantri for having deftly side-stepped the issue including his interview yesterday, NewsX I believe, and brought out, in a very sophisticated manner, what needs to be put out in the public domain. He said, there is no controversy on this. He rightly said, yesterday, that from the day of the announcement, he wanted to get in touch with me but somehow he did not get through to me. The defence secretary spoke to me and mentioned that the honorable Raksha Mantri would like to speak to me and I called on the Raksha Mantri, and we had a very good one-on-one with nobody else.
There would be some doubts in the minds of people whether I am resigning or not or what happens now on.
First and foremost, the whispers in the corridors, as they say, that the government has offered some sops to me and hence I am keeping quiet and hence, I am not resigning. Let me make it absolutely clear gentlemen, no favours were asked, no favours were given. No commitments were asked no commitments were given. I don't think that's a soldier's way of doing things. So there is nothing on the horizon, which I am looking, seeking.
Second, are there some skeletons in my cupboard which is making me keep quiet? Now, those of you who know me well, and I think my command knows me well, my last year and a half, approximately, I have never gone to the media, I am media shy, I firmly believe that everything doesn't need to be put in the public domain. There are no skeletons in my cupboard. There are no handles with anyone by which I can be coerced, requested, told, to behave in a certain manner
I have served with honor and when I look back, I have nothing to be afraid of. So the next logical question is, why am I keeping quiet? Why am I not resigning? The honorable way of doing things. We have past precedence, there are enough people, enough speculation, I have been inundated with calls, innocent calls, innocuous calls, not so innocuous calls.
The third comes media. I think some things need to be kept out of it they are in it for TRPs they may be opinion holders but matters of the armed forces, my opinion, they are looking only at sensational or negative (news) to be brought out there is very little constructive reporting within is somebody taking a bribe? Somebody getting court-martialed? It makes a huge splash and in the present case, they would like some sensational news to go out.
I have always had my command over a secured channel. I am giving no directions, you talk to anyone in the media, and if it comes out in the media, what I've spoken to you today, but I leave it to your better sense are we being true to ourselves by speaking to the media? What I'm talking to you today is from a commander talking to the troops he is commanding, I don't think it finds any place in the media
Ok, so, back to the question Why am I not resigning? No tom-tomming, no skeletons in my closet, no aspirations for seeking any appointment so why am I not resigning?
Something which is already partially in the open domain that has already been written about, I would like to tell that there has been a malicious campaign to smear my name a very deeply rooted conspiracy. Who was it? Why would he do it? What was the motive? Is not exactly clear to me. I started getting a sense of it about a month before, but, it was officially confirmed to me that actually it started almost five to six months before very intelligent, it was done by writing anonymous letters and we all know how we are supposed to deal with anonymous letters.
Those of you who watched the TV, I think, some days back, one anonymous letter was flashed one of the news channels also that letter I am aware of the truth in that context. But then there was not one anonymous letter, there were many written over a period of five to six months talking about my functioning as eastern army commander and making certain allegations.
When you look into this letter, at least one of such letters talked about, that, I was hobnobbing with industrialists, promoting some personal interest, subjecting my command to come and listen to individuals and then, of course, I am giving you the lead, there were many other letters regarding contacts with arms traders that I gift contracts out in return of pecuniary or personal gains and all sorts of rubbish.
We are all aware of anonymous letters, I get lots of anonymous letters during my command but here, all these anonymous letters were not against self-aggrievement (sic) against anyone been personally subjected to any adverse situation, instead, it was all to malign my name the letter which I have, led me to believe, that there was somebody from my command who was talking, who was giving information, lending credence to the information, assisting t them, in fact, this letter is somewhere around the 29th of June, but, since they did not know the facts, they tended to make things up, and that is where they tended to make mistakes.
Mistakes like I had a memorandum of understanding with Mahindra and Mahindra and I had called General Shami Mehta, who got the Mahindra group here and then I called some of my commanders here and made them listen to them, hobnob with them. I know it is not anyone from my headquarters, because they know the truth and I have nothing to hide there have been commanders conferences, and, accordingly, I called my formation commanders here, after a two-day formation commanders conference, that I had done earlier, I had a lecture kept by eminent personalities, which was addressed by Lt General Shami Mehta the letter mentioned he was my mentor.
I have never met him till I retired, I just didn't know him,
he has nothing to do with Mahindra… Mahindra had come
as part of a CSR project with the full knowledge of the army headquarters and the DG for making a shelter for the students. General Shami Mehta had nothing to do with it he was not even present, he was not part of the MoU which was just a simple MoU signed with Mahindra and Mahindra.
I'm just trying to tell you, that someone was trying to gloss over facts. There was no mention of the formations commanders conference in that letter.
One of the issues flagged in the letter said that there has been an exponential spike in spending of army commander's special financial powers, that is true it is verifiable, it is absolutely true my three predecessors had averaged an expenditure of only (Rupees) 3-4 crores in there tenure this is a verifiable fact it was adversely
commented upon by CAG 'why give army commanders special powers if (money) is not spent?'
Rs 50 crore was allotted to me this year, having spent it, I asked for 75 more crores, having spent it, I got Rs 25 more crores and as I talk to you today, 85 crores I have spent from an average of my predecessors of 3 crores. I don't have to justify myself in front of my own command, my command knows me but a simple thing like this, that too much money is being spent, I think, whoever did this, with whatever motive, is a bigger anti-national, a person who is, once again, using the armed forces for his personal motives, whatever they may be I hasten to add here, gentlemen, no way am I casting any aspersions on our chief our chief, I have no reason to believe, that our chief-designate who will be taking over in another couple of minutes, is involved in this nonsense. I refuse to believe that, the fact that there was a conspiracy, the fact that there were letters, the fact that there was a sustained campaign over five to six months, the fact that they sowed the seeds of doubt, the fact that an investigation was ordered by the CDGA, which went to the CGDA Guwahati and people found out where (items) were purchased from, were those agencies in any way connected to me and they came up with nothing. And I was not concerned. Because the CGDA investigation got it in writing, nothing was addressed to my headquarters and I brought it to the attention of the outgoing chief that such a thing was happening, and it was incorrect, but nothing came out and I was absolutely at ease because as I told you, there are no skeletons in my cupboard, I knew nothing would come out that my command is getting what is due to it, which has been denied to it, for many years, and I don't have to tell you what all has come, what all is coming in, what all is in the pipeline whether you have demanded it or not demanded it, it is still being given to you with a clear, very very clear intent of enabling my command to get the best. When I say the best, I mean the best. A simple thing like BPJ, bulletproof jackets we all know, the whole Indian army is struggling with it, the MGO, the army headquarters, MoD, even the honorable RM has spoken said we have placed an order for 50,000 BPJs, but what is perhaps not known is, we have already purchased BPJs of specs that is higher than what is purchased in Delhi today. We have gone for even even higher specs which will become a barometer for the Indian army to buy in time to come. It rivals what the NSG has. I just give directions to my staff-just get the best for my troops. Anyway, I am falling into the trap of justifying my actions, that is not the intent of my talk.
I would like to talk about why I am not resigning.
But why I am not resigning I want to get to the bottom of who was behind this whatever seeds of doubt are lingering in whoseovers minds have to be clarified. By resigning, I will be running away from the b and that is not in me how can I be your army commander if I were to run away for no personal fault of me. I have a clear heart, I can look you in the eye and I am going to clear, to get to the bottom of this, of whoever it was, so that, the reputation of the Indian army as viewed by anyone else outside the Indian army, remains intact. At the highest level if somebody's reputation is being smeared in this manner and he is expected to keep quiet, that is the reason I am not resigning. I have spoken to our chief designate on three occasions, work is continuing as normal, whatever our requirements, whatever our preparations, the combined commanders conference to be chaired by the honorable prime minister, my MGGS has already gone and given his first presentation work shall carry on I may be on leave, yes I am on leave currently, but at our level, for some leave you remain hands on, and I shall remain hands on as far as keeping my hands on the steering wheel of command, but I will be on leave. I will be meeting the honorable Raksha Mantri, I already mentioned to you, he's already mentioned it in the interview yesterday, work will carry on as usual, we have to prepare for the forthcoming (NOT CLEAR) in Assam all the three corps, correction, 4 Corps has already done it, so 3 corps, work will continue. Operational planning and parameters where required will be given. My interaction with corps commanders and area commanders will continue as hitherto fore
To sum up, it will be work as usual
This is a personal thing which I have shared with you and hereafter, I would request you to erase this from your memory. I reiterate that it is a political decision of the government and I completely abide by it. As far as issues of merit and seniority goes, my personal views have already been articulated in the army commanders conference. I myself have said that promotions to higher rank have to be seniority cum merit, I have no doubt about it. And this is what I reiterated to the honorable Raksha Mantri but the issue of smearing somebody's name in a very devious manner, conspiratorial manner, I read somewhere
about 'men in shadows' I don't think, we in the Indian army who have been trained to fight our enemies can allow such people to survive in our own organization..they need to be exposed and that is why I shall continue though I shall be on leave, for the forseeable future. I would ask you to continue to perform, both on the LAC and in CI ops, in your quest for upping your conventional edge, refining your procedures and don't let your quest for enjoyment not enjoy life also. So with this, gentlemen, I thank each one of you for your support over the last year or so. Continue with the good work, I am still here with you. I wish you, your families, a very very happy new year a year filled with good cheer, good health, most important, personal satisfaction and also, in the same way, I would like to welcome the new commanders who have joined us and thank the commanders who have left us, commanders who have joined us, specially IGR-South and IGR- north, commanders, sorry, not commander, GOC 57 Mountain Div, his tenure will be getting over shortly. GOC 5 composite, GOC 20 composite and GOC 17 composite who I haven't met GOC 27 composite I've already met and, most importantly, GOC 3 corps and GOC 118 bde. A very warm welcome to you in the eastern command. May you have a professionally rewarding tenure. Thank you gentlemen. Jai Hind.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...der-general-bipin-rawat-kolkata/1/855122.html
At around 11 am on December 31, shortly before General Bipin Rawat was to take over as the Indian army's 27th chief of the army staff, Eastern Army Commander Lt General Praveen Bakshi addressed his troops.
The half-hour video address broadcast from the Eastern Army Command headquarters in Fort William, Kolkata, to nearly 3,00,000 men under the Commander-in-Chief, was eagerly awaited for one reason.
The government had, on December 17, superseded Lt General Bakshi by appointing his junior Lt General Bipin Rawat as army chief. This was only the second deviation from the seniority principle for selecting the army chief in nearly 70 years. It was widely believed that General Bakshi would follow Lt General SK Sinha's precedent in 1983 when he resigned after being superseded by his junior General AK Vaidya. But General Bakshi, clearly, was no Lt General SK Sinha when he signaled "It will be work as usual," in his address.
The army commander began by wishing the new army chief all the very best and, three times in his address, termed the decision to appoint the new chief a 'political decision' which he abided by. If General Bakshi had ended his address with the good wishes, there would have been no controversy. But the latter part of his speech raised eyebrows within the army circles both for its content and portent.
Also read: Will continue to lead Eastern Command, says Lt General Praveen Bakshi
India Today has accessed a recording of General Bakshi's transcript where the general appeared to have, what one army officer termed, a 'spectacular meltdown'. General Bakshi declined to comment to an India Today questionnaire. An officer from the eastern command said that the speech reflected the general's 'personal views' and that the commander had nothing further to add to it.
In his speech on New Year eve, the general reeled out a bitter litany of complaints against the media and the veterans fraternity but what clearly caused him anguish was something else. He flagged, 'a malicious campaign, a deep rooted conspiracy', 'whispers in the corridors', carried out by 'men in the shadows'. The implication was clear, the conspirators had tarnished his reputation which possibly wounded his chance of becoming army chief. General Bakshi clarified he would now expose the 'enemies of the Indian army'.
The eastern command is second only to the northern command in troop numbers and responsibilities. The command borders four countries-China, Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh, nine Indian states, including four insurgency-ridden ones. Yet, there was just a passing reference to this in his address.
"I don't think, we in the Indian army who have been trained to fight our enemies can allow such people to survive in our own organization," General Bakshi said, hitting out at those he held responsible for his plight. "They need to be exposed... and that is why I shall continue though I shall be on leave, for the forseeable future."
Also read: Government may assign post at par with Army chief to superseded Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi
The army commander embarked on leave of absence for a month until January 29, during which period he is likely to miss out the army commander's conference beginning in Delhi on January 23. General Bakshi however, reminded his troops that he would be 'keeping my hands on the steering wheel of command'.
"I am falling into the trap of justifying my actions, that is not the intent of my talk..." he says, but then, goes on to do exactly that. 'Why I am not resigning' is a constant refrain, in explaining which, the commander's address goes on to sow its own set of conspiracy theories.
He puts to rest the controversy over his meetings with defence minister Manohar Parrikar on December 21 to clarify that he had sought no favors and was promised nothing in return.
The general speaks of procurements in the Eastern Command under his predecessors (Lt Generals VK Singh, Bikram Singh and Dalbir Singh, all of whom went on to become army chiefs) as averaging only Rs 3-4 crores whereas he spent Rs 85 crores on procurements in the past 18 months.
Also read: Lt General Praveen Bakshi to meet Manohar Parrikar to discuss his future
He mentions a series of anonymous letters which were written against him alleging corruption in these purchases and also his proximity to a former army vice chief who he invited to address the eastern command.
"The defence forces take no cognizance of such letters," says Lt General Raj Kadyan, former deputy chief of army staff. "And if it true that the government decision took cognizance of these letters, it is very unfortunate and we've harmed a good man."
"Nobody has questioned General Bakshi's ability to lead the Eastern Command, so it's alright for him to continue,"says Major General Surjit Singh (retired). "There have been several cases in other world armies of superseded generals serving on but if he starts the inquiries he has promised, then he will only be embarrassing himself."
Senior army officials confirmed that some anonymous letters had been received by defence minister Manohar Parrikar some months back. They were investigated by the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CDGDA) which found them to be untrue. General Bakshi in fact mentions this in his speech. While he continues his hunt against the alleged conspirators, there is one certainty. The eight months he will serve out are unlikely to be very quiet.
Also read: 'We will cross again'
HERE IS THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF GENERAL PRAVIN BAKSHI'S SPEECH :
(FIRST MINUTE UNCLEAR)
On your behalf, I offer full support to him (General Bipin Rawat). We wish him, for the new year dawning tomorrow, not only good cheer and good health, the sagacity, the professional acumen and the moral strength to guide our army to greater (heights).
I am completely in agreement with the political decision taken by our government. It is a political decision and we shall abide by it. There is no reason to question it, to dissect it in the public domain, in fact, if anything, the issue that saddens me is the trolling which is going on in the media and the environment. Whilst we cant really stop the media, curtail the media, while we cannot also, monitor social media, we shall not do that also.
People of our own fraternity, our veterans, have used this as an opportunity to come on the electronic media and dissect, talk about four serving Lt Generals, drawing their merits and demerits in the public domain. In my personal opinion, I think that was in very very poor taste. I sincerely hope that better sense prevails in the veterans, who may have held very high positions, but that does not give them the right, especially when, we, as serving generals, do not have access to the media to (give rebuttals) on whatever is coming in the media. They are welcome to talk about it. But comparisons in the public domain, are a big no-no. I hope better sense prevails in them and I see that it has already been conveyed to them, and they have from coming in the open media to draw comparisons of serving generals.
Having said that, there are certain things I would like to convey to you. First and foremost, my meeting with honorable Raksha Mantri. It has generated a fair amount of interest, controversy, controversy to the extent of who sought the meeting first which is immaterial, it is absolutely immateria but, nevertheless, that's what media does when I was in Delhi and going to meet the honorable Raksha Mantri, I found, on the TV channels,'General bakshi seeks meeting with RM'. I'm very grateful to the honorable Raksha Mantri for having deftly side-stepped the issue including his interview yesterday, NewsX I believe, and brought out, in a very sophisticated manner, what needs to be put out in the public domain. He said, there is no controversy on this. He rightly said, yesterday, that from the day of the announcement, he wanted to get in touch with me but somehow he did not get through to me. The defence secretary spoke to me and mentioned that the honorable Raksha Mantri would like to speak to me and I called on the Raksha Mantri, and we had a very good one-on-one with nobody else.
There would be some doubts in the minds of people whether I am resigning or not or what happens now on.
First and foremost, the whispers in the corridors, as they say, that the government has offered some sops to me and hence I am keeping quiet and hence, I am not resigning. Let me make it absolutely clear gentlemen, no favours were asked, no favours were given. No commitments were asked no commitments were given. I don't think that's a soldier's way of doing things. So there is nothing on the horizon, which I am looking, seeking.
Second, are there some skeletons in my cupboard which is making me keep quiet? Now, those of you who know me well, and I think my command knows me well, my last year and a half, approximately, I have never gone to the media, I am media shy, I firmly believe that everything doesn't need to be put in the public domain. There are no skeletons in my cupboard. There are no handles with anyone by which I can be coerced, requested, told, to behave in a certain manner
I have served with honor and when I look back, I have nothing to be afraid of. So the next logical question is, why am I keeping quiet? Why am I not resigning? The honorable way of doing things. We have past precedence, there are enough people, enough speculation, I have been inundated with calls, innocent calls, innocuous calls, not so innocuous calls.
The third comes media. I think some things need to be kept out of it they are in it for TRPs they may be opinion holders but matters of the armed forces, my opinion, they are looking only at sensational or negative (news) to be brought out there is very little constructive reporting within is somebody taking a bribe? Somebody getting court-martialed? It makes a huge splash and in the present case, they would like some sensational news to go out.
I have always had my command over a secured channel. I am giving no directions, you talk to anyone in the media, and if it comes out in the media, what I've spoken to you today, but I leave it to your better sense are we being true to ourselves by speaking to the media? What I'm talking to you today is from a commander talking to the troops he is commanding, I don't think it finds any place in the media
Ok, so, back to the question Why am I not resigning? No tom-tomming, no skeletons in my closet, no aspirations for seeking any appointment so why am I not resigning?
Something which is already partially in the open domain that has already been written about, I would like to tell that there has been a malicious campaign to smear my name a very deeply rooted conspiracy. Who was it? Why would he do it? What was the motive? Is not exactly clear to me. I started getting a sense of it about a month before, but, it was officially confirmed to me that actually it started almost five to six months before very intelligent, it was done by writing anonymous letters and we all know how we are supposed to deal with anonymous letters.
Those of you who watched the TV, I think, some days back, one anonymous letter was flashed one of the news channels also that letter I am aware of the truth in that context. But then there was not one anonymous letter, there were many written over a period of five to six months talking about my functioning as eastern army commander and making certain allegations.
When you look into this letter, at least one of such letters talked about, that, I was hobnobbing with industrialists, promoting some personal interest, subjecting my command to come and listen to individuals and then, of course, I am giving you the lead, there were many other letters regarding contacts with arms traders that I gift contracts out in return of pecuniary or personal gains and all sorts of rubbish.
We are all aware of anonymous letters, I get lots of anonymous letters during my command but here, all these anonymous letters were not against self-aggrievement (sic) against anyone been personally subjected to any adverse situation, instead, it was all to malign my name the letter which I have, led me to believe, that there was somebody from my command who was talking, who was giving information, lending credence to the information, assisting t them, in fact, this letter is somewhere around the 29th of June, but, since they did not know the facts, they tended to make things up, and that is where they tended to make mistakes.
Mistakes like I had a memorandum of understanding with Mahindra and Mahindra and I had called General Shami Mehta, who got the Mahindra group here and then I called some of my commanders here and made them listen to them, hobnob with them. I know it is not anyone from my headquarters, because they know the truth and I have nothing to hide there have been commanders conferences, and, accordingly, I called my formation commanders here, after a two-day formation commanders conference, that I had done earlier, I had a lecture kept by eminent personalities, which was addressed by Lt General Shami Mehta the letter mentioned he was my mentor.
I have never met him till I retired, I just didn't know him,
he has nothing to do with Mahindra… Mahindra had come
as part of a CSR project with the full knowledge of the army headquarters and the DG for making a shelter for the students. General Shami Mehta had nothing to do with it he was not even present, he was not part of the MoU which was just a simple MoU signed with Mahindra and Mahindra.
I'm just trying to tell you, that someone was trying to gloss over facts. There was no mention of the formations commanders conference in that letter.
One of the issues flagged in the letter said that there has been an exponential spike in spending of army commander's special financial powers, that is true it is verifiable, it is absolutely true my three predecessors had averaged an expenditure of only (Rupees) 3-4 crores in there tenure this is a verifiable fact it was adversely
commented upon by CAG 'why give army commanders special powers if (money) is not spent?'
Rs 50 crore was allotted to me this year, having spent it, I asked for 75 more crores, having spent it, I got Rs 25 more crores and as I talk to you today, 85 crores I have spent from an average of my predecessors of 3 crores. I don't have to justify myself in front of my own command, my command knows me but a simple thing like this, that too much money is being spent, I think, whoever did this, with whatever motive, is a bigger anti-national, a person who is, once again, using the armed forces for his personal motives, whatever they may be I hasten to add here, gentlemen, no way am I casting any aspersions on our chief our chief, I have no reason to believe, that our chief-designate who will be taking over in another couple of minutes, is involved in this nonsense. I refuse to believe that, the fact that there was a conspiracy, the fact that there were letters, the fact that there was a sustained campaign over five to six months, the fact that they sowed the seeds of doubt, the fact that an investigation was ordered by the CDGA, which went to the CGDA Guwahati and people found out where (items) were purchased from, were those agencies in any way connected to me and they came up with nothing. And I was not concerned. Because the CGDA investigation got it in writing, nothing was addressed to my headquarters and I brought it to the attention of the outgoing chief that such a thing was happening, and it was incorrect, but nothing came out and I was absolutely at ease because as I told you, there are no skeletons in my cupboard, I knew nothing would come out that my command is getting what is due to it, which has been denied to it, for many years, and I don't have to tell you what all has come, what all is coming in, what all is in the pipeline whether you have demanded it or not demanded it, it is still being given to you with a clear, very very clear intent of enabling my command to get the best. When I say the best, I mean the best. A simple thing like BPJ, bulletproof jackets we all know, the whole Indian army is struggling with it, the MGO, the army headquarters, MoD, even the honorable RM has spoken said we have placed an order for 50,000 BPJs, but what is perhaps not known is, we have already purchased BPJs of specs that is higher than what is purchased in Delhi today. We have gone for even even higher specs which will become a barometer for the Indian army to buy in time to come. It rivals what the NSG has. I just give directions to my staff-just get the best for my troops. Anyway, I am falling into the trap of justifying my actions, that is not the intent of my talk.
I would like to talk about why I am not resigning.
But why I am not resigning I want to get to the bottom of who was behind this whatever seeds of doubt are lingering in whoseovers minds have to be clarified. By resigning, I will be running away from the b and that is not in me how can I be your army commander if I were to run away for no personal fault of me. I have a clear heart, I can look you in the eye and I am going to clear, to get to the bottom of this, of whoever it was, so that, the reputation of the Indian army as viewed by anyone else outside the Indian army, remains intact. At the highest level if somebody's reputation is being smeared in this manner and he is expected to keep quiet, that is the reason I am not resigning. I have spoken to our chief designate on three occasions, work is continuing as normal, whatever our requirements, whatever our preparations, the combined commanders conference to be chaired by the honorable prime minister, my MGGS has already gone and given his first presentation work shall carry on I may be on leave, yes I am on leave currently, but at our level, for some leave you remain hands on, and I shall remain hands on as far as keeping my hands on the steering wheel of command, but I will be on leave. I will be meeting the honorable Raksha Mantri, I already mentioned to you, he's already mentioned it in the interview yesterday, work will carry on as usual, we have to prepare for the forthcoming (NOT CLEAR) in Assam all the three corps, correction, 4 Corps has already done it, so 3 corps, work will continue. Operational planning and parameters where required will be given. My interaction with corps commanders and area commanders will continue as hitherto fore
To sum up, it will be work as usual
This is a personal thing which I have shared with you and hereafter, I would request you to erase this from your memory. I reiterate that it is a political decision of the government and I completely abide by it. As far as issues of merit and seniority goes, my personal views have already been articulated in the army commanders conference. I myself have said that promotions to higher rank have to be seniority cum merit, I have no doubt about it. And this is what I reiterated to the honorable Raksha Mantri but the issue of smearing somebody's name in a very devious manner, conspiratorial manner, I read somewhere
about 'men in shadows' I don't think, we in the Indian army who have been trained to fight our enemies can allow such people to survive in our own organization..they need to be exposed and that is why I shall continue though I shall be on leave, for the forseeable future. I would ask you to continue to perform, both on the LAC and in CI ops, in your quest for upping your conventional edge, refining your procedures and don't let your quest for enjoyment not enjoy life also. So with this, gentlemen, I thank each one of you for your support over the last year or so. Continue with the good work, I am still here with you. I wish you, your families, a very very happy new year a year filled with good cheer, good health, most important, personal satisfaction and also, in the same way, I would like to welcome the new commanders who have joined us and thank the commanders who have left us, commanders who have joined us, specially IGR-South and IGR- north, commanders, sorry, not commander, GOC 57 Mountain Div, his tenure will be getting over shortly. GOC 5 composite, GOC 20 composite and GOC 17 composite who I haven't met GOC 27 composite I've already met and, most importantly, GOC 3 corps and GOC 118 bde. A very warm welcome to you in the eastern command. May you have a professionally rewarding tenure. Thank you gentlemen. Jai Hind.
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