Parrikar writes to Mamata, protests her allegations against army

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, Dec 09, 2016 : Defence minister Manohar Parrikar has written to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who had objected to the presence of Indian Army at toll booths on national highways in the state, saying dragging the military into a controversy will hurt its morale.

 

“Your allegations in this regard run the risk of adversely impacting the morale of the country’s armed forces,” ANI quoted Parrikar as saying in the letter.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien said that the chief minister has not received Parrikar’s letter and it has already been leaked to the media.

“We will give a befitting reply when it comes,” O’Brien told ANI.
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The presence of the army on a crucial Kolkata bridge last week sparked a political fight with the Trinamool Congress alleging the Centre was arm-twisting the state and the BJP blaming Banerjee of politicising a regular military action.

The war of words followed a night of drama after Banerjee refused to step out of the state secretariat Nabanna to protest against the “sudden deployment” of the army in the area.

The Centre and the army rubbished the allegations, saying too much was being read into a routine exercise.

Parrikar told the Lok Sabha that the army was conducting a routine exercise in Kolkata. The Eastern Command showed papers detailing the correspondence between the army and the local police on the issue and said the state government and the police knew about it in advance.

Courtesy: Hindustan times