Former Army Chief Gen Naravane: Keep Armed Forces Away from Politics

In an interview with ANI, Gen Naravane also said that "attributing a particular statement to Prime Minister is not in good form".

He also reiterated his earlier stance that "not an inch has been lost to China".

"Political leadership doesn't interfere directly into military affairs and attributing a particular statement to Prime Minister is not in good form. Whatever decisions are taken are taken by Cabinet Committee on Security. That Committee is headed by the PM...Whatever decisions are taken in the Army are always on the orders of the Chief. But you don't keep saying "Chief ne ye kaha hai, isliye aisa karo," he said.

"It is understood that when something is being done, it has been done by the orders or by the instruction of whoever is empowered to pass such a kind of order or instruction," he added.

Asked about his message to people regarding interpretations of his book, Gen Naravane said everyone is free to interpret everything as per their own conscience.

"In doing so, they should see what is good in the overall national interest. If they keep that aspect in mind, I don't think anybody would have doubt in which way a particular issue is to be interpreted," he added.

The former Army chief's unpublished memoir 'Four Stars of Destiny' led to political wrangling after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought to mention some lines from it during his speech on the motion of thanks on the President's Address during the budget session of Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi, who is Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, sought to target the government over the 2020 border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. BJP had strongly opposed the Congress leader citing from an unpublished book.

The publisher of the book also later clarified that 'Four Stars of Destiny' was not available for sale and a book is considered published only when it is available for purchase across retail channels.

Gen Naravane earlier this week held a book signing event in Pune for his book 'The Cantonment Conspiracy' and told reporters that now he is into fiction writing, apart from penning military reports for academic journals.

In his interview with ANI, Gen Narvane talked about the confidence that the Indian armed forces have and the respect been given by people.

"I think the confidence that the Indian armed forces have and the respect that has always been given by our people far surpasses the kind of negativity that very small issues could generate...I always keep saying, 'Bharatiya Sena, Bharat ki sena'...They, in turn, give us that love and respect which makes us strong and enables us to stand on the border and guard our people."

He said the Indian armed forces pride themselves on being a very apolitical.

"The armed forces should be kept as far away from politics as possible. The Indian armed forces pride themselves on being a very apolitical Army, Navy, Air Force. If you see what is happening in the country's periphery, it is a strength that we have never even sought to get involved in political matters and that's what makes our country strong," he said.

"That's what makes our democracy strong, that we are one of the pillars of governance, along with the judiciary and the press. This is a strong pillar on which the country is doing so well. But that does not mean that we cannot have our own political affiliations, that we cannot cast our vote. You have to differentiate between the organisation and the individual. As an organisation, we are totally apolitical. But as individuals, we have full democratic rights to cast our vote," he added.

Asked about his "not an inch has been lost to China" remarks made in the past and its interpretation by Congress, Gen Naravane said at that time also, he had said that there is no loss of territory.

"I stand by that statement even today. That is where the matter stands. However, if somebody doesn't want to believe it, that is his choice. There is no amount of giving statements or producing evidence that will ever change somebody's mind who doesn't want to believe and has got some different views altogether. We have tried our best but if somebody still doesn't want to accept that that is the truth, then so be it," he said.

- ANI