Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Views by Brig SVS Chowdary...28 April 2009

From: SVS Chowdhry brigchowdhry@yahoo.com

Subject: IESM Advisory for the Lok Sabha Election

To: "Brig CS Kamboj" kamboj_cs@yahoo.co.in

Cc: "Gen Raj Kadyan" rajkadyan@yahoo.com , "Gen Satbir Singh" satbirsm@yahoo.com

Date: Tuesday, 28 April, 2009, 10:43 AM



Dear Brig Kamboj,

I have seen some of the emails which are critical of the advisory issued by the IESM for supporting the BJP in the Lok Sabha election..

I attended the IESM Maha Rally at Jantar Mantar on April 12, 2009 . After a number of speakers had expressed their views, the last two speakers, Maj Gen Satbir Singh and Lt Gen Raj Kadyan, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the IESM, fully analysed the prevailing scenario and after taking all factors into account advised the veterans to support the BJP wherever any ESM was not contesting the election. Their simple logic was : We must support the Party which is prepared to support us, especially our main demand for OROP.

In some of the emails which were critical of the advisory, the members have harped on the need for remaining ‘apolitical’. We should keep in mind that by following such an approach during the last six decades the veterans have not benefited in any way. Moreover, in the current democratic set up in the country, no political party would pay heed to our problems unless we lobby and give wide publicity to our views.

In one email, an arm-chair critic has suggested tat the IESM should be disbanded and we should leave our problems in the hands of IESL. This is an indeed strange suggestion.

The IESM was constituted as the IESL was completely ineffective in securing OROP.

The IESM is a vibrant and truly representative organization of the ESM today and it should continue its efforts for the solution of the problems faced by the veterans.

The successive Central Governments in India since Independence , headed most of the time by the Congress Party, did not pay adequate attention to the role and importance of the Defence Sector. During the J & K operations in 1948 a cease-fire was ordered when the Indian Army was on the offensive. The modernization of the Armed Forces was ignored from 1947 onwards and this resulted in the massive debacle in NEFA in 1962. The culture of ignoring the view point of the Armed Forces continued even after 1962 as seen from the strategic folly of handing over of Haji Pir to Pakistan and the mindless deployment of the IPKF in Sri Lanka .

The record of the BJP-led NDA Government has been definitely better. They instituted the ECHS which has been a great boon for the veterans. The BJP has also firmly committed in its Manifesto that it would implement our demand for OROP.

I hope that the IESM members would appreciate the logic behind the advisory issued by the Core Group and would support the BJP. If the BJP is successful in the Lok Sabha election, then the IESM would insist on the implementation of the demand for OROP ; even if it does not win the election, the Armed Forces veterans would still have the support of the main Opposition Party to project their views in the Parliament.

With warm regards

Brig S V S Chowdhry (Retd),
410, Sector 29, Arun Vihar,
NOIDA – 201303

Mobile : 9811900718,