The Hindu : National : Fernandes urges EC to restrain Sonia on coffin issue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 05, 2004

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National

Fernandes urges EC to restrain Sonia on coffin issue

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 4. The Defence Minister, George Fernandes, today urged the Election Commission to restrain the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, from raising the coffin scam issue, as it was tantamount to "demoralising" the armed forces.

In a representation to the EC, Mr. Fernandes said that "dragging and demoralising the armed forces in this manner should not be allowed to continue."

Mr. Fernandes had initially planned to call on the Election Commissioner, along with some of his colleagues, to complain against Ms. Gandhi but because of a change in his travel plans, he made a written representation to the Commission. He said " the decision to go in for the purchases [of coffins] was taken by the armed forces at the highest level and not by the Minister of Defence at the political level."

He accused Ms. Gandhi of "using the martyrs of Kargil as fodder for an election campaign" and said that he was forced to react to "protect the interest, morale and dignity of the armed services."

The Defence Minister had been at the receiving end of an Opposition campaign both inside and outside Parliament on the coffin purchase issue.

Insisting that the issue had been clarified repeatedly, he said that as the Defence Minister, he had nothing to do with the approval/selection process of the caskets.

"It is highly improper to feed falsehood to the public in order to accuse the Government of corruption by demoralising the armed forces and indirectly calling their integrity into question," Mr. Fernandes said.

He urged the Commission restrain Ms. Gandhi and her party colleagues from resorting to such "ugly and vitiating" campaign in the border areas.

"While some amount of leeway is taken in election rhetoric, and persons like myself would not be agitated by attacks of a political nature, if the rhetoric sinks to the level of using the martyrs of Kargil as fodder for an election campaign,

``I must exercise my right and duty as the Defence Minister of India to protect the interest, morale and dignity of the armed services," he said.

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