THE DEEP STATE IN THE MOD IS AGAINST MODI
(THE SERPENT IS UNDER THE CARPET)
By PG Kamath
Our PM and the countrymen must be made aware of the game being played by the bureaucracy that has grown to be a "committed bureaucracy", as committed to the dynasty as Indira Gandhi wanted it when she wanted a committed bureaucracy.
Since the time the NDA took over in mid-2014, I was wondering as to why the rightist government is framing policies against its own armed forces? The volleys against the armed forces have been unabated. There have been three RMs in four tenures and all of them were being played around by the bureaucrats in the MOD like the play dough in the hands of a pre-school child.
It started with the delay in granting OROP and after it was granted its entire character had changed when the details emerged in the government order. The original OROP was badgered and mutilated. The bureaucracy had played its tricks. Then came the 7th Pay Commission as the services got the rawest deal; the officers' rations were cut in peace times and were given a pittance of financial compensation lesser than what is paid to the convicts in jail in Delhi and other metropolitan cities. Justice Mathur has mentioned in the pay commission report that he was against the NFU however, as it was already in vogue for the past ten years, he let it continue. However, without batting an eyelid he willingly stopped the rations of the officers that were in vogue for over three decades. To quote from what I had read earlier "Justice Retired Mathur Retired Justice" to the armed forces in his recommendations. The government instead of taking him to tasks readily agreed to cut the services to size. The 7th Commission report was accepted without even resolving the Anomalies of the 5th and 6th Pay Commission.
In each quarter the MOD is bringing out one new issue; one after another; seniority issue with the armed forces cadre, not considering the JCOs as gazetted officers in giving them the ID cards of lower class, opening the Cantonments to public by misguiding the RM that the Vice Presidents were responsible for the cantonments, trying to usurp the post of General Manager of CSD from the services, trying to play around with the well laid out procedure and trying to insert an Addl Secretary for selection of Defence Attaches, undermining Gen Shekatkar report by reducing the armed forces personnel without reducing the civilian cadre in Armed forces who are more than 40 percent of the uniformed personnel, reducing the CSD allocations of the forces and taking over Advance Base Workshops so that they have one more cash cow to milk from. Granting NFU for all the central government servants including the PMF but fighting tooth and nail in the court for not granting the same to the Armed Forces, as if they are from a hostile country. They have also made the AFT ineffective, which is functioning with less than forty percent of its authorised benches. The list is endless. Now you may ask why well-settled issues are being raked and new issues are being raised by the MOD to undermine services and lower their morale? The reason should bewilder the PM and RM as well.
The truth is MOD officials are very circumspect and worried of the inquiries into the previous arms deals such as Westland Helicopters. They are also constrained under the NDA that their erstwhile turf is getting reduced and the size of their illegal pie is getting smaller. How marvellous it was under the UPA when there were scams galore; who really had time to talk of scams in defence purchases? Their leverage and their range of operations to milk from cash cows of DRDO and defence deals are getting more and more dangerous as no minister is really partaking and claiming his share of the spoil. To do it alone is dangerous; is it not? The extradition of Christian Michel and Rajiv Saxena has also opened new threats and the best way to guard against the threats is by making Modi very unpopular with the services. The latter to their dismay has also become an approver. The total strength of the Indian Armed Forces is 1.4 million and 2.1 million reservists. In addition, there are well over 5 million veterans. The total adds up to 8.5 million. Multiply this figure by at least 10, the close family circles and extended family circle influenced by the servicemen and veteran and the figure comes to a whopping 85 million voters. The aim of the MOD is to make this 85 million disgruntled with the Modi regime. If even fifty percent of the voters vote against Modi or give the option of 'NOTA', it will make a substantial dent into the number of seats for the NDA. We all know how the 'NOTA' has made a difference in the number of seats in the recent state elections. As also, the margin of difference has been in some cases a single figure. Once the UPA comes to power they are all smug doing what they want without any threats. The deep state in the MOD can revert back to its antics.
The RM is busy as a spokesperson of the party than as a defence minister. She really does not realise that the ice below her feet is melting slowly. She has fallen prey to the MOD by opening up the Cantonments to civilian traffic, where she had vested interests and that has cost her the moral clout to give firm directions to the bureaucrats in the MOD. Now that they have ensnared her, they are at liberty to badger the services with hitherto non-existing issues. As on today, there is no General Manager for the CSD. The MOD wants a bureaucrat there as they eye it as a lucrative post to make money. A number of DAs posts are lying vacant as MOD is not approving them as they want to insert one of their Babus in the selection committee for the Military Attaches. There is a well laid out system under the Vice Chief of services operative for the past several decades and the MOD wants to tamper with the system. Even the High Commission of India in the Maldives; the country that is geo-strategically so essential for us to sustain our clout in the Indian Ocean has not been posted with a Naval Attaché (NA). The island nation, which has fallen into our fold, due to divine intervention is without an NA; there we are sending a message of indifference towards the nation. The timing is so essential as their new PM has just visited our country and we are in the process of ousting China from the island archipelago. However, the national interest may go to dogs as far as the ego of MOD Babus prevails; they have won their battle. The delay in approving the DA is an anti-national act: RM has to open her eyes and understand how her act of omission is doing a disservice to the nation. She, unwittingly abetting anti-national elements in the MOD. Please do not be surprised if the Embassy of China posts their NA and fills the gap in the absence of Indian NA. All the energy lifelines to China pass between Maldives and India and the geo-strategic ace in our hands would get compromised overnight; the moment the Maldives prefers China to India.
Dear Prime Minister; please tell your RM to do her job and the spokesman for the party can be someone else. The opposition is flogging a dead horse called 'Rafael' and they would continue doing so as they really cannot imagine or understand how a defence deal can be done without middlemen and bribes. You should not really blame them as they have done it from the very first deal of independent India in 1948 when they bought jeeps from Britain. Just tell me; how such a party can conceive a defence deal without allurement? It is beyond their thinking prowess. Do not try to defend the deal any more as the public has seen through it; more they talk of the deal the more alienated they would be from the general public. They are digging a pit called Rafael in which they will collectively fall. All I can say to you, to open your eyes and win back the servicemen and veteran constituency that has been loyal to you and let them not wander away from you due to clever mechanisation of the MOD. The serpent is under the carpet; you do not have to look for it elsewhere!
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