TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday refuted allegations about him being politically inclined, and asserted that the services work on government directions. “We stay far away from politics, very far. We have to work according to the directions of the government in power,” General Rawat said during a media interaction when his reaction was sought on allegations about his political inclination.
On December 26, then Army Chief General Rawat had said that leading masses and crowds to carry out arson and violence in cities and towns is not leadership, in a reference to the countrywide anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 protests. “Leaders are not those who lead people in an inappropriate direction,” he had said.
Several leaders across the political spectrum had taken exceptions to his statement and condemned the then Army chief’s remark. The Communist Party of India released a statement on General Rawat’s remark, accusing him of violating Section 21 of the Army Act. The remark violated service rules which prohibit him from making any kind of comment unrelated to Army matters, it said.
