Former Navy Chief Writes To Election Commission To Stop Misuse Of Armed Forces In Polls

Off late, the armed forces have been dragged into politics a lot. This is expected to further escalate in the coming days with the election battles heating up. Some of the biggest names including PM Narendra Modi, BHP Chief Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress President Rahul Gandhi have all used the armed forces in their speeches to score political points on opponents.

Amid all the back and forth political allegations, many ex-servicemen have openly expressed their displeasure in the security forces being dragged into political battles.

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Now former Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas has sought the intervention of the Election Commission in stopping political parties from using the Pulwama attack, Balakot air strike and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's operations to influence the electorate.

In an open letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, Admiral Ramdas expressed concerns on "recent instances" of parties using armed forces' heroics for political gains.

"With elections due in a few weeks from now, it is particularly important that there should not be any misuse of these recent events by any political party to send triumphalist or jingoistic messages which can influence the electorate," he said.

The former Navy chief said it was completely unacceptable since it has the potential to destroy the very foundations and value system of the armed forces, drawn from the vision, the spirit and intent of the Constitution.