Gen GD Bakshi Blasts Karnataka Govt For 'Disrespecting' War Hero Col Ravindranath, Who Turned Kargil Battle Upside Down
"We are all guilty as a nation. If this is our attitude towards those who lay down their lives for the nation, then the future of India is in jeopardy," Gen Bakshi said.
Bengaluru, April 10: Karnataka government drew flak from a section of Army veterans for allegedly showing apathy towards war hero Col (retd) MB Ravindranath, who died on Sunday after suffering a heart attack.
Major Gen (retd) GD Bakshi blasted the Siddaramaiah-led government for 'disrespecting' the war hero, saying such attitude of the government brings the entire nation to shame.
"Col Ravindranath was heading the 2nd Rajputana Rifles, which single-handedly turned the Kargil battle upside down. After he defeated the Pakistanis at the Tololing Top, there was no looking back. Only then we had succeeded in driving the enemy out," Gen Bakshi said while speaking to LatestLY.
"When such a person passes away, at least some respect should be shown towards him," the security analyst further added.
Referring to the recent state funeral accorded to deceased Bollywood actress Sridevi, Gen Bakshi said it is ironical that the corpse of an artist gets wrapped in the tricolour, but an Army veteran is laid to rest sans the honours.
"Even when the actress was being honoured with the state funeral, I had stressed that the Constitution permits such honour to be accorded only to the soldiers who put their lives on the line each day for the nation," he said.
Gen Bakshi also pinned blame on the civil society and media for not condemning the manner in which the Karnataka government treated the Kargil veteran.
"We are all guilty as a nation. If this is our attitude towards those who lay down their lives for the nation, then the future of India is in jeopardy," he said.
According to Gen Bakshi, the 'disrespect' shown by the Karnataka government towards Col Ravindranath is not an isolated incident.
"The apathy is on the increase," he quipped, recalling the 2013 incident when 11 jawans killed in Kashmir were brought back to their home-state Bihar, but no minister of the then JD(U) government turned up to receive the mortal remains.
"Even if the nation forgets the legacy of our war heroes, the armed forces will never let them down," he said, adding that he is involved in the making of a documentary which will especially feature the fight of Tololing which led to the victory in Kargil.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2018 10:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).