Minister defends army over Omar remark

NEW DELHI - Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju Thursday said the Indian Army had the right to voice its opinion even as the force apologised to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for a statement criticising him.

“I think as a force on the ground which has to deal first-hand with the situation, the army has the right to voice its opinion once in a while and it will also be taken note of,” Raju told reporters here on the sidelines of a defence function.

He said as a force on the ground fighting terrorism first-hand, the army was discussing the concerns regarding the visibility of armed forces in the region, which should be addressed in a “practical and pragmatic” manner.

The army’s Northern Command, in a statement Tuesday, had said Abdullah had “given in” to the clamour of demilitarisation and dismantling of bunkers in Srinagar, which had “delighted” the separatists.

This had irked Abdullah, who, while speaking at a public meeting in south Kashmir’s Anantnag town, had said he would persist with his demand for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and dismantling of bunkers in the places where “militancy has declined and peace has returned”.

Northern Command chief Lt. Gen. B.S. Jaswal then apologised to the chief minister on this issue, command PRO Lt. Col. Pradeep Kochhar said in a statement Thursday.