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Navy’s Unseemly tug-of-war Harinder Sikka The ongoing crisis in the Indian Navy is bound going to leave in its wake memories of the bitterest conflict between the present chief, Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, and others. "Never in the history of the Navy, in any part of the world, have there been so many writ petitions and wild allegations filed by admirals, including a Naval Chief, yet all of them have strangely been buried by the Government without even a simple enquiry. This has irreparably damaged the morale and fibre of the force.
The foremost rule of the Armed forces is "Never to question an order". The very foundation of the forces is built on the structures of "Compliance of Order & Discipline". What example is the Naval chief displaying to the younger generation? Besides. as a Vice Admiral, Bhagwat's name was never recommended by the Naval Headquarters for the post of DCNS, yet the MoD thought it fit to appoint him as one. In other words, overruling or making appointments has always been the prerogative of the Government. ln fact, it is the very basis on which civil control of the Armed Forces is exercised in a democratic system like ours. The present crisis can be traced to 1990, when Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat filed a 400-page writ petition in the Mumbai High Court charging 19 admirals and four secretaries of being arms' agents and questioned their integrity. He went on to question the wisdom of the MoD and the Prime Minister in not promoting him to a higher rung. The media lapped up the news for never before had any senior military officer leveled such serious charges against his own service of the Government However, before this petition could be heard, Admiral Bhagwat quietly withdrew the same, leaving a lingering doubt in the minds of the public. For some strange reasons, the Government did not think it suitable to go into details. In fact, it further damaged the services by allowing both the accuser and the accused to flourish by promoting many of the admirals and officers The brunt of that irreparable damage is being faced by the Navy today. Having tasted success then, and ably supported by his famous lawyer wife, Admiral Bhagwat filed yet another petition in the Calcutta High Court. He targeted the Defence Secretary, the Joint Secretary, and a Vice Admiral, and charged them with being agents of arms' dealers This time, however, he could not withdraw the petition. The judges found the allegations unsubstantiated. It should be ascertained as to why did Admiral Bhagwat withdraw the petition filed in 1990, and not expose the "tainted" Admirals and secretaries instead? Either the officers were guilty and should have been punished or Admiral Bhagwat should have been taken to task for making false allegations. It is reported that Admiral Bhagwat's wife is card holder of a political party and that this party played a role in the entire murky affair. Should a political party be allowed to Interfere in the functioning of the defence services? In his recent writ petition filed at the Calcutta High Court, Bhagwat is reported to have charged MoD officials with conniving with arms dealers? Though the petition has since been summarily dismissed by the learned judges, was it not an act of gross indiscipline on the part of the Naval Chief and, therefore, should he be allowed to go scot-free? A record numbers of admirals and officers are reported to have made statutory complaints against Admiral Bhagwat. The very fact that they all had put in meritorious service demands that their complaints be further scrutinised. The defence forces are the backbone of a nation. The selection of chiefs of the forces should be made with utmost care and deliberation for these chiefs are then expected to set an example for the forces they lead. The Government on the other hand is expected to take stringent action against undisciplined officers, failing which the nation would stand to face its rl1perr.ussions at the time of war. |