Indian ex-military chiefs say army being used for votes

NEW DELHI: Eight former service chiefs and over 100 ex-military officers have written a damning letter to Indian President Ramnath Kovind blaming political parties for using army to gain political mileage in polls.They expressed deep concern about the use of the military and referring to a recent operation to garner votes in the Lok Sabha election 2019.Balakot airstrike has been a key election slogan of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Indian PM Narendra Modi has banked upon anti-Pakistan rhetoric to win the polls.According to Hindustan Times, the letter was signed by former army chiefs General SF Rodrigues and General Deepak Kapoor, former air chief marshal NC Suri and former navy chief Suresh Mehta among many others.The letter, released to the media after the conclusion of first phase of election on Thursday, particularly referred to the phrase, “Modi ji ki Sena” used by Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath during a political rally in Ghaziabad last month.“The unusual and completely unacceptable practice of political leaders taking credit for military operations like cross-border strikes, and even going so far as to claim the Armed Forces to be ‘Modi ji ki Sena’,” the letter says.The letter urged the Indian Election Commission to take action against politicization of armed forces. The electoral body had stopped political parties from using pictures of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan after his plane was shot down by the PAF on Feb 27.

from The News International - World http://bit.ly/2Ucrq63