New Delhi, December 28: Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat's remarks on the anti-CAA protests continue to draw flak, with the latest salvo fired against him by former Union Minister P Chidambaram. The Congress veteran, while addressing a public meeting in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, said the head of armed forces must not interfere in issues which fall under the domain of political class. Indian Army Defends General Bipin Rawat’s Remark on Students’ Protest, Veterans and Opposition Rebuke.
"DGP and Army General are being asked to support government, it's a shame. Let me appeal to General Rawat, you head the Army and mind your business. It's not business of Army to tell politicians what we should do, just as it's not our business to tell you how to fight a war," Chidambaram said.
General Rawat, while speaking at an event in the national capital on Thursday, stoked a row by condemning the students' protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Rawat called it a leaderless agitation, which is pushing the protesters into mob violence and arson.
"Leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate direction. We are witnessing in large number of universities and colleges that students are leading masses and crowds to carry out arson and violence in cities and towns. This is not leadership," General Rawat had said.
Update by ANI
#WATCH P Chidambaram: DGP&Army General are being asked to support govt, it's a shame. Let me appeal to Genaral Rawat,you head the Army&mind your business. It's not business of Army to tell politicians what we should do, just as it's not our business to tell you how to fight a war pic.twitter.com/MgjkeSPBPn
— ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2019
Apart from Chidambaram, other Opposition leaders including Digvijaya Singh and Asaduddin Owaisi had also condemned Rawat for his remarks. While the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister asked the Army chief to explain what kind of leadership comes into play when the nation is "pushed into communal genocide", the AIMIM chief took a jibe at him by saying that leadership also restricts one from "crossing his limits".
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 28, 2019 03:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).