‘Deep’ government-army trust deficit: Advani

Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Friday said the Indian Express report on the government getting spooked by an army movement highlighted a “deep” trust deficit in the establishment.

“The Indian Express story this week does highlight how deep is the trust deficit pervading the Establishment circles these days,” Advani wrote on his blog, http://blog.lkadvani.in

The Express had Wednesday reported that an “unnotified” movement of two key army units — a Mechanised Infantry unit from Hisar in Haryana and a sizeable section of 50 Para Brigade from Agra — on the night of Jan 16-17 towards the capital had spooked the government.

Advani said the Express story and follow up reports in sections of the media were “extremely alarming” and shared his party spokesperson’s view that “government-army ties are at an all time low”.

“If one reads the April 4 report thoroughly, and the several follow up stories published April 5, one would have to concede that the reports are extremely alarming,” he wrote.

The BJP leader recalled a 1989 episode accusing then home minister Buta Singh of trying to call in the army in Delhi following the Congress’s election defeat.

Advani said he was informed by Vijai Kapoor, former lieutenant governor of Delhi, on how in 1989, “following the defeat of Rajiv Gandhi’s government, Buta Singh initiated a serious move to call in the army and how it was aborted”.

Romesh Bhandari, who was the lieutenant governor at that time, has denied involvement in the 1989 event in his auto-biography.

“Bhandari may plead innocence. But the then union home minister Buta Singh cannot. That he did initiate a move to call in the army on the basis of a concocted story becomes evident from the LG’s own testimony,” Advani wrote.