Civilian control must over Army: Gen Rawat

New Delhi, February 12

Clearing all doubts and confusion over the responsibilities of the Defence Secretary and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat said both had their own charter of works. “There must be some civilian control over the military. I would dare to say civilian control over the military must remain and must be paramount in a democratic country like ours,” he said.

Speaking at the Times Now Summit 2020 in Delhi, General Rawat said the CDS was looking at jointness, integration and ensuring that the priorities for procurements were laid out correctly so that all the three services — Army, Air Force and Navy — move ahead without one service trying to beat the other in procurement system.

“The CDS has to ensure that the budget is better managed and we do not rush to ensure that the budget is utilised,” he said. He also said that the Armed forces are at the cusp of transformation noting that proxy war and cross-border terrorism remained the key security challenges facing India.

Gen Rawat also rejected criticism that the Armed forces were suppressing the rights of the people in Jammu and Kashmir and said required steps were being taken keeping in view ground realities and the threats of terrorism.

Asked about his recent controversial comments that India has deradicalisation camps, he said what he meant was classification of people based on their views and the impact of relentless efforts to deradicalise young people. “When I said camps, I meant groups of people. The classification of people based on their views and the impact of relentless efforts to deradicalise young people. The word camp got misunderstood,” he said. He also said India was not competing with China which aspired to be a global power. — IANS/PTI