*SITHARAMAN BLUNTS THE SWORD THAT DEFENDS THE NATION!*_By Lt Gen PG Kamath (Retd)_
Every living being is born with the innate instinct of self-preservation. Even a human embryo during the abortion clings to the mother's womb and resist being removed. In times of danger, the adrenalin secretes and the human body becomes large, the heart pumps blood faster and one can hear its thud in the chest, the rapid breathing takes in as much oxygen as possible. If one has to flee all the strength and energy gets fortified in the legs to take us away from the (CONTD) >>>>>
danger. Such is the carnal instinct of self-preservation. It is plain and simple that no living; wants to die. The innate instinct of self-preservation is strongest and embedded in the physiology and psychology of a human.
danger. Such is the carnal instinct of self-preservation. It is plain and simple that no living; wants to die. The innate instinct of self-preservation is strongest and embedded in the physiology and psychology of a human.
As a soldier on the battlefield; you have to remain steadfast, when the bombs are exploding, arty shells are splintering with hundreds of splinters, the bullets are tearing through the air around you, mines are exploding below your feet, airbursts are raining shrapnel from the air, the fusillade of bullets are falling all around you and would get you the very next moment, there is fire and smoke caused by phosphorous ammunition engulfing you and dust and din of the battlefield neither lets you open your eyes nor can you breathe. In this condition, you are to get up from your trench and assault the enemy through this murderous fire run across the minefields, negotiate wire obstacles, close in with the enemy for 'hand to hand' combat and capture the objective.
In this process, there would be heavy casualties and officers and soldiers die, get maimed for life, could become prisoners of war and bleed and die on the battlefield living up to their motto 'Swadharme Nidhanam Sheryah' (It is glory to dies doing one's duty).
Now, what happens to those who survive? They are treated in hospitals and survive to tell their battle tales. Most are maimed for life; some spend their lives on the invalids' chair, some adorn prosthetics, some are blind and luckier ones partially blind, most have their eardrums burst, and continue to serve till their pensionable age. Please note the pensionable age in the army is not 60 years as for his civil counterparts; it starts from the age of 35 years and more than 80 per cent retire before they are 43/44 years. They have still about 30 to 35 years of life after retirement. In these years they are employed as security guards or other sundry jobs in private sectors. Those who are maimed are shunned after retirement as no one wants a limping or partially blind and deaf security guard.
It is for this reason since the British times had awarded the injured and maimed soldiers with 'disability pension' and they were exempted from paying income tax. Now comes our Ms Sitharaman on the scene; initially as the defence minister and then as the finance minister; she does not believe in such mollycoddling of soldiers. She is strict and practical and puts the armed forces in its place. She has the backing of Modi, then why not marginalise them? After all; when I was at the JNU I had always despised them; she thinks!
She is sagacious and opens up the cantonment for public traffic. Her only gripe was that the armed forces had not followed the procedure in closing the roads. She is not worried about the security and safety of soldiers' families whom they leave behind in the cantonments while serving in operational areas. For her, the procedures are more important. After scratching the surface of what prompted her to open the roads; it has been revealed that it was an act of conflict of interest. She sulks when exposed and does not respond to the journalist, who wrote to her.
During her time, she ensured that the Defence Budget was at the lowest in terms of percentage of GDP since 1962. She as RM defends the FM telling that it is compatible with the spending capability of her ministry. All of you please listen to the preposterous argument: The geo-political and geo-strategic environments around the country would atrophy until the MOD improves its spending abilities and reduce the red tape. Till such time Ms Sitharaman is content with low budget allocation.
Now as the FM, she has starved the Defence Ministry and the allocations for the defence is just adequate to fend off the inflation. It was 1.48 % of GDP last year when she was the RM and the current year it is 1.45% of GDP when she is the FM. She very well knows the spending ability of her previous ministry and is content with the red tape. The capital budget does not even sustain the committed liabilities for modernisation. China and Pakistan indeed cannot stop smiling!
The highest accidents and deaths of own officers and soldiers have taken place during her time due to defective ammunition manufactured by the state-owned ordnance factories. Not a word from her as to how it has been caused and what steps she is taking to remedy it?
She believes that the defence land is meant to be given for civilian use. In order to curry favour with the Karnataka Government, she has given the defence land to the state government, who are still in the process of identifying the land to be returned. Before she left the defence ministry, she should have ensured that the state government returns the land: No; it is a favour done to the state government as she wants to get a Rajya Sabha seat from Karnataka. This was done prior to the elections as she was not sure as to how her party would fair in the state; meanwhile, why not cultivate the Congress-JDS coalition and establish a personal rapport with them. Giving away defence land is a small price to pay for the attendant long-term support for the Rajya Sabha seat; isn't it? Judge for yourself; it is her instinct of political self-preservation at play!
The last three months of the financial year was a life of penury for the armed forces. The MES contractors were not paid and all the works had stopped. Well over ₹ 2000 crores of unpaid bills accumulated and the contractors stopped construction of vital defence infrastructures. Even the MES (support service for civil works and daily maintenance) told the units and formations that repairs can only be done if they buy expendables from the open markets as they do not have any money to purchase them. In some peace stations even the condiment allowance, which is required by units to prepare food was not paid and units had to spend money by collecting the same from soldiers for their daily cooking. ECHS had virtually come to a halt with no medicines available and the veterans were spending their own money for basic medicines. Even the CAG has slammed the MOD for poor and improper implementation of the ECHS scheme. The 'Standing Committee on Defence for 2018-19 had observed that the shortage for ECHS revenue budget allocations was ₹ 1576 crores and ₹1460 crores for the financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively. It did not bother the defence minister and the replies from her ministry to the standing committee were pedestrian. No efforts were made to increase the allocations leaving 52 lakhs veterans and their dependents in the lurch.
The list is endless; however, what gets the goat is removing the income tax benefit to the disability pensioners who have served till their pensionable service. When she was trolled for the unethical decision, she tweets an unsigned letter from Army HQ? How has she got the letter from Army Headquarters as they are not authorised to write to any other ministry other than the MOD? Did she prepare for such a measure to be taken, when she was the Raksha Mantri and got it initiated from the ministry and approved the same when she became the Finance Minister? This has been the unkindest cut of all. It is humiliating for a soldier, who has lost his limbs in battle. It belittles his sacrifice and pegs him down to a mercenary, who fights for pecuniary benefits. His sense of patriotism, honour, mission accomplishment ethos and his pride have been made insignificant. It appears that his sacrifice was done with the sole aim to get the income tax benefit. If some individuals have taken advantage of the provision then service headquarters and the ministry should take to task, such manipulators. It appears barbaric; cut off the head of those who complain of a headache? When there is no head; how can one have a headache? Logical indeed: Ms Seetharaman!
The issue was raised in parliament and before the RM could answer Ms Seetharaman answers that the decision was at the behest of service headquarters. How compliant and supportive to the needs of servicemen? Ms Seetharaman; there is the RM, who is senior to you, seated in the house. He is a politician with grass-root support and has fought his way through elections and reached there; unlike you, who is a political featherweight entering the cabinet from backdoor entry. Do you fear that the decision that you have taken in such haste would be rescinded? So what; if it is an unpopular decision that damages the party's name? As far as your ego is intact; who cares for the party? Please do not forget the elections have been won flaunting the capability of Armed Forces in 'Surgical Strike' and 'Balakot Air Strike'. A strong and resolute PM Modi taking on Pakistan and even China at Doklam was the narrative. Now; what has happened that you are marginalising the Armed Forces; so soon after the victory? Don't the public see through the farce?
Why this angst against the armed forces? Is it because you are from JNU where celebrations were held when over 70 CRPF men were killed in an ambush by the Maoist? It is the same university that was wanting India to fragment and were eulogising Afzal Guru? It is not possible for any right-thinking Indian patriot would take such decisions that kill the fighting spirit of a soldier and blunt the sword that defends the nation? I can end with a quote from Abraham Lincoln; "A nation that does not honour its heroes will not long endure".
"KAMATH""
"KAMATH""
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