Army chief pulls up commanders, Antony lambasted.
By Rajiv Theodore
NEW DELHI: India’s Army chief Gen. Bikram Singh has pulled up some top commanders at the Line of Control after two raids by the Pakistan army this year, even as the raids resonated in Parliament, and led to criticism of India’s longest serving Defence Minister Aracaparambil Kurien Antony.
Antony’s utterances in Parliament on Wednesday led to the collapse of proceedings in both houses, forcing adjournment for the day.
The trigger went off when the minister gave a statement in Parliament soon after five Indian soldiers were killed by Pakistani forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The opposition was enraged by the minister’s remark that the attack was carried out by “terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan army uniform.â€
BJP demanded that Antony apologize for “toeing the Pakistani line” and the conflicting answers he rendered when he stated that the Indian soldiers were killed by 20 heavily armed terrorists and persons in Pakistani Army uniform, while an Indian Army statement said the terrorists were assisted by Pakistan Army.
Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said Antony’s statement was ‘most laughable’. “It seems as if he (Antony) is on Pakistan Army’s side. It was a most laughable statement, as the army has clearly stated that Pakistani soldiers were involved,  and army is on the ground they know better than what prime minister and defence minister know,†he said.
Leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj slammed Antony for giving Pakistan army a “clean chit” in the attack. She said while an earlier statement by the Army and the defence ministry blamed terrorists and Pakistan army regulars for the attack, Antony said those involved in the incident were terrorists and people wearing Pakistan Army uniforms.
“The defence minister should apologize to the country,” Swaraj said amid din over Telangana and law and order situation in West Bengal.
The slaying of Indian soldiers has brought a cloud over the proposed talks between the two neighbors at a time when both sides were finalizing “mutually convenient dates” in late August and September for these talks. However, New Delhi is yet to spell out what action they would take diplomatically.
The defence minister’s style of functioning has been under criticism. He has been blamed for the slow pace of India’s defence modernization agenda. During his tenure Antony had barred four major international defence firms, Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK); Rheinmettal Air Defence; Israel Military Industry and Denel, apparently on mere suspicions of wrong doing.
Recently, Antony had been eager to scrap the deal for acquiring VVIP choppers from Italy’s Finmeccanica after allegations that the company had taken bribes in India to clinch the deal
Experts here have also accused Antony of keeping Washington at arm’s-length as far defence deals go and attitude cultivated by perceptions of the past when the US had overtly sided with enemy numero uno, Pakistan.