The Hindu : National : Lapses will not go unnoticed, says Pranab

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Friday, Apr 29, 2005

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Lapses will not go unnoticed, says Pranab

Special Correspondent

Rejects charges of political vindictiveness

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said the Government would not let any ``lapse or act of commission and omission go unnoticed'' if it had caused harm to the country. ``The guilty would be punished without any vindictiveness,'' he assured the Rajya Sabha while replying to a discussion on the working of his Ministry.

Rejecting charges of political vindictiveness, especially when the Government filed the second affidavit in the Supreme Court on defence purchases, Mr. Mukherjee said neither was a former Defence Minister given a clean chit in the first affidavit nor was there political vendetta in the second one. ``It is for the judges to say. The Attorney General said in front of the open court that affidavits should be filed. What can the Ministry of Defence do? We must look at things in the proper perspective.''

The Defence Minister began his reply by appreciating the assistance provided by the armed forces following the tsunami in south India and the heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir. Despite having its beginnings as a colonial force, the commitment of the military to democratic institutions was at the core of its heart. The fact that the military did not attempt to wrest political power unlike in neighbouring countries was a ``unique indication of its discipline.'' That was why, he suggested, the armed forces should be treated with the sensitivity and compassion they deserved.

Mr. Mukherjee recalled the case of a ``bright young man who was victimised though Bofors was the best artillery gun. No iota of evidence was available but his name was put on the charge sheet even after his death. We don't want to create that atmosphere but that chapter cannot be ignored.''

Dwelling on the need to increase defence allotment despite competing demands from the social sector, Mr. Mukherjee said India would spend what was required to protect its territorial integrity and denied that higher spending could trigger an unintended arms race.

He recalled the Sino-Indian war in 1962 when the then Defence Minister, V. K. Krishna Menon, had to take the blame for slackness in defence preparedness. ``We can't take that risk though we have no territorial ambitions. Our defence preparedness is not for aggressive purpose.''

Speaking on procurement issues, the Defence Minister said the Government had identified a couple of areas where ``doubts arise'' and these would be addressed in the revised purchase policy being formulated by the Ministry. He turned down suggestions to entrust the task of determining defence equipment requirements to outside experts. ``In the Parliamentary system, the authority is with the political executive. If you don't accept that, it will create problems.''

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