India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, JANUARY 02— Newly-appointed Chief of the Indian Army General Manoj Mukund Naravane has said that the Army has always been apolitical and always keeps Constitution above everything.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, General Naravane said: “The Army has always been apolitical and will remain apolitical.” His response was to a question about his predecessor General Bipin Rawat allegedly crossing boundary between politics and army by commenting on the on-going protests by students and other people against Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
General Naravane further said: “When we join the Army, whether we are officer or JCO (Junior Commissioned Officer) or a Jawan, we take an oath to follow the Constitution and keep that above all.”
He also said that the Army is always ready to counter any threat from across the border.
General Naravane was appointed as Army Chief on Tuesday.
Last week, General Rawat had commented on violence during protests against CAA.
“Leadership is all about leading. When you move forward, everybody follows… But leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate directions, as we are witnessing with a large number of students,” General Rawat had said at an event in Delhi.
Day after retiring as Army Chief, General Rawat took charge as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on Wednesday.
General Rawat was criticised by several political parties including Congress for his comments.
Soon after taking oath as CDS, General Rawat, when asked to respond on allegations of being politically inclined, said: “We stay far away from politics, very far.”
