“Political parties and politicians may have the luxury of making wild and unsubstantiated allegations against each other but one needs to be extremely careful while referring to our armed forces,” writes Mr Parrikar.
On December 1, as part of exercises across Bengal and several northeast states, the Army had deployed unarmed soldiers at checkpoints and toll plazas to observe and note the movement of vehicles which could be diverted in case of a major disaster, military operation or war.
Soldiers at a toll plaza 500 metres away from the Chief Minister’s new secretariat in Kolkata infuriated Ms Banerjee and she refused to leave her office, demanding that the army be removed first. “I am waiting here at the Secretariat and watching, to guard our democracy,” she tweeted. She left her office 30 hours later, long after the army had gone.
