The Chief Minister of Delhi on Thursday made the grand gesture of donating Rs 1 crore to the family of an ex-serviceman, who had committed suicide in Delhi, at his funeral in Bhiwani, Haryana. Is this rank political opportunism? Is this with an eye of reaching out to the Punjab electorate in the forthcoming elections, simultaneously touching the hearts of the armed services community; equally with an eye to attacking the Prime Minister for his ‘anti-national’ and ‘anti-armed services’ posture? If he had done the contribution from his private funds, nobody would object – the funds are from the exchequer of the Delhi government, which is highly subsidised by the national exchequer!
The armed forces are held in the highest esteem by every Indian. The glorious duty of defending our borders rest on their shoulders. The average Indian sees the armed forces with veneration. It will be a tragedy if political parties use the various incidents relating to the Army as political ammunition to feather their own private interests; bring the noble forces for daily analysis by party hacks who have their own petty political agenda, with no regard to overall national interest.
The judiciary, the armed forces and Constitutional agencies like the CEC, the CAG and the like are held in great regard and respect by every Indian – they should not be brought in as subject of attention with narrow political and vote bank interests of individual hick politicians, who are keen to score brownie points in and out of season against their political opponents.
