Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Two years after reports of alleged movement of two Army units towards Delhi cast a shadow over the civil-military relations in India, retired Lt-Gen AK Choudhary, who was Director General of Military Operations in January 2012, has now broken his silence on the controversy and the reported level of distrust between the government and the Army then.
Speaking to Zee Media, AK Choudhary has admitted that the troops` movement did create a flutter at the highest level of the Congress-led UPA government in mid-January 2012, which then asked him to take corrective steps and file a detailed report to the Centre at the earliest.
Choudhary also claimed that lack of communication, immaturity and growing distrust between the government and the Army triggered panic in the political establishment, particularly at a time when then Army chief Gen VK Singh and Defence Minister AK Antony were not on good terms over the former`s retirement row.
The former Bengal Area Commander however added that the confusion could have been avoided and the entire situation could have been handled in a better way had there been a proper communication between the two sides.
“The reports on Army troops movement was blown out of proportion. It was a routine movement by the Army, which generally holds such exercises late in night to avoid traffic snarls and get real time inputs. However, I feel the troop movements could have been avoided if it was known that VK Singh was approaching the Supreme Court on the matter of his date of birth against the government on the same day - January 16, 2012,” Choudhary told Zee Media.
Choudhary also confirmed that he was called in by then Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma to explain the movement of a mechanised infantry unit from Hisar and a paratroopers detachment from Agra late at night on the same day.
This confirmation comes after almost two years of denial by both the government and the Army of any such incident.
Choudhary had also made similar claims to a leading newspaper The Indian Express, which first investigated and reported the matter on April 4, 2012.
The publication of report had triggered a political storm and saw the Defence Minister AK Antony rubbishing it “absolute rubbish”.
Later, General VK Singh too called the report “fables of a sick mind” and claimed that “no clarification was sought by the government”.
Choudhary told Zee Media that his office submitted a detailed report on the troop movements on January 17 and explained that the troops were moving as part of a planned exercise. He further said that a few months down the line, instructions were passed that the government needs to be informed of all Army movements near the national capital.
