Saying that he wasn't "vanquished" and that no option - including going to court - had been ruled out, he claimed that there were threats to liquidate him and he would welcome a parliamentary probe into his sacking.
Addressing his first press conference after his ouster, coinciding with the first day of Parliament's Budget session, Bhagwat said his sacking was a "politico-military" coup carried out by Fernandes. And the manner of Admiral Sushil Kumar's appointment as the new chief was "grossly violative" of procedureand law.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) is not the dismissal committee, he said. Bhagwat insisted that he was sacked "without due process" and no ACC note was prepared to select his successor.
Bhagwat also claimed that principal secretary Brajesh Mishra had told him to "soften" Fernandes during his visit to the Andamans so that he would moderate his public stand on China. "Mishra will of course deny it now," he said.
Fernandes alleged that I departed from traditional political neutrality. Does neutrality mean accepting Savarkar award, attending ABVP functions? Or calling Bal Thackeray to ArmyInvestiture Parade as done by General Ved Malik?At the press conference, Bhagwat came armed with photocopies of his letters, notings and also with a recorded press conference to drive home his point, that he was wronged by a minister who is "abetting" Burmese freedom movement, the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers and other rebel outfits.
"George Fernandes never looked at the camera when he gave his interview and we made a laughing stock of ourselves in front of the world," Bhagwat said. He claimed that Fernandes had even ordered the CBI and IB to conduct an inquiry against him. "But they found nothing. Even my enemies will vouch for my being upright," he said.
"Fernandes led a personally orchestrated media campaign first against the (former) Chief of Air Staff Satish Kumar Sareen and then me. But I told him that he will not succeed in breaking the morale of my service," Bhagwat said. He also added that a one-year extension given to General Malik was part of the game plan to oust him. "Four days after theswearing in of the this government, a statutory complaint was filed (by Vice Admiral Harinder Singh) saying that I have a hidden agenda, a half-Muslim wife and that I am anti-turban. The officer teams up with Fernandes, Ajit Kumar and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Members of Parliament (MPs) to oust me. Ashwini Minna takes him to Fernandes and together they all create an illusion in the media that there is a mutiny in the Navy," he said.
On the gun-running racket in the Indian ocean, Bhagwat said that when Fernandes ordered that the Army/Navy operations be stopped, he replied that nobody could stop the operations or intervene in the working of the armed forces.
Citing examples of service chiefs disagreeing with the government decision, Bhagwat said that both General K S Thimayya and General S H F J Manekshaw differed with government decisions. "But Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee did not meet me despite my repeatedly asking for an appointment. Yet he had time to spend New Year's Eve with Harinder Singh,"he said.
Editor's version
Reacting to former Chief of Navy Vishnu Bhagwat's claim that he had accompanied Harinder Singh to lobby with Fernandes, Ashwini Kumar Minna, Editor, Punjab Kesri, told The Indian Express:
``I had never taken Harinder Singh to meet Fernandes. Harinder Singh is an family friend from Jalandhar for the past 20 years. Last year, I happened to meet Harinder at a party, where he gave details of whatever was happening between him and the Naval Chief (Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat). After that I wrote to Fernandes saying I was concerned about the goings-on in Naval Hq and justice should be done to Harinder Singh. But he never replied.
Since then I have met Fernandes only once at a party. All he said was ``I have learnt from reliable sources that you are in possession of some important tapes (about the controversy).'' I said I didn't.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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