New Delhi:
The Prime Minister today described as "alarmist" a report in the Indian Express that says in January, the Army moved two units towards Delhi in January without informing the government.
"The Defence Ministry has already clarified its position. These are alarmist reports and should not be taken at face value," Dr Manmohan Singh told journalists at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Defence Minister AK Antony said the report is "absolutely baseless." He added, "We are absolutely confident about the patriotism of the Indian armed forces."
Defence Ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar clarified, "The points raised in the (Express)) report have already been clarified by the Army... such exercises are conducted by the Army from time to time."
The Indian Express says that central intelligence agencies reported that on the night of January 16, there was an unexpected - and non-notified - movement by a key military unit from the mechanised infantry based in Hisar in the direction of the capital. On the same night, the paper reported, another unit - identified as a large element of the 50th Para Brigade based at Agra - had also been moved towards Delhi, which the paper claims caused some concern within the government. The paper says the movement of the Army units took place as Army Chief General VK Singh took the government to court, demanding that it must accept his claim that he was born a year earlier than his records reflect. He later withdrew his petition. The dispute between the government and the chief over his age greatly frayed his relationship with the defence ministry.
According to the article in the Indian Express, the Army had said that the units were moved to check response time and preparedness during the January fog.
MPs on a parliamentary committee for defence today questioned both the government and the army's vice-chief Lt. General SK Singh about the report.
The main opposition party, the BJP, said that the fractured relations between the Army and the government are a matter of concern. "This is not in the interest of the nation, the equilibrium between the Army and civilian government must be restored and respected," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.