Former Navy Chief Admiral L. Ramdas has written a protest letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) over the ‘Modi ki sena’ remark by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
“The armed forces are not a private force belonging to any individual or political party, and therefore any suggestion to that effect is completely unacceptable,” Admiral Ramdas said in the letter dated April 1, 2019.
Three weeks back, Adm. Ramdas had written to the CEC about the politicisation of the armed forces by political parties and use of military images as part of election campaigns.
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Addressing a rally in Ghaziabad on March 31, Mr. Adityanath referred to the Army as “Modiji ki sena” which drew sharp criticism from Opposition parties and the military fraternity.
“This was exactly the kind of development I was fearing when I wrote to you last month,” Admiral Ramdas observed and said that as one of the senior most former chiefs of the armed forces, he considered it his duty to bring it to the notice the fact that “we, the armed forces of the country, owe our allegiance only to the constitution”.
He expressed confidence that the Election Commission of India would take “suitable action” as soon as possible “to arrest such irresponsible actions”.
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