Swift action needed against the culprits, say former defence chiefs

Swift action needed against the culprits, say former defence chiefs
KOTA NEELIMA

NEW DELHI, MARCH 14: Their reactions may vary but former defence chiefs today said they were ``not shocked'' by the Tehelka tapes and ``believed'' this expose of corruption in the Ministry of Defence and the Army.

Former Chief of Army Staff General V.N. Sharma (1998-1999) said: ``These people should be taken to the cleaners if they are found to be involved. And they will be in the armed forces. But politicians are slippery customers and bureaucrats are their servants.''

He explained that ``in the Army those who interact with the civilians, those who deal in getting weapons, equipment or supplies are exposed to various temptations. They have to meet various agents before deciding what is the best deal, and that is where there are opportunities to get corrupt.''

However, he underlined the fact that this section of the staff does not include the soldiers who fight and man the borders. ``These are an extremely small number of people who are in daily contact with the civilian world,'' he said.

``Now this difference between the two sections will become sharper and I am happy that the bad guys have been caught. The action against the culprits will not only be immediate but also set an example for any like-minded attempt,'' he adds.

Former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat observed bitterly that the tapes had proved that ``national security had been gravely jeopardised not so much on defence equipment but by personnel who are subversive.''

``The present government has forfeited its right to govern any more,'' he added. ``Nothing less than a plastic surgery will rescue the situation. And that is possible only when the present government is replaced with a government consisting of men of integrity.''

At the same time, denying that men in the armed forces should take up the job of governance, he said ``it is up to the people now to choose politicians who love their country instead of those who sell their country.''

Former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Jayant Nadkarni (1987-1990), too, said he believed the tapes. ``And I do not feel that this is an aberration. There are always some black sheep in a system.''

``There should be action on two fronts now. One, the Government and Opposition should close ranks, instead of using this to score points, and bring the culprits to book,'' he said.

``Like the Watergate scandal, there must be a thorough investigation. It should not drag on like the Bofors case. Even if it's a Joint Parliamentary Committee or anything else, it should lead to solutions and punishment,'' he stressed.

``Two, all the major defence deals struck in the past 10 years should be examined besides every detail on what was approved, what were the qualifications and who approved the proposals,'' Admiral Nadkarni added.

Former Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S.K. Kaul (1993-1995) said it was nothing new. ``I am not shocked or surprised because this has been happening since Independence. Whenever people had had opportunities, they never bothered about their reputation or integrity. Corruption is so wild that even others who are not really initiated get interested in the presence of the opportunities available for getting corrupt,'' he observed.

``One of the lessons from the incident is that people should stop electing politicians with criminal records. Also it should be made mandatory for political parties to submit income tax returns detailing all the money that comes in as party funds,'' he added. ``And most importantly, there should be transparency in all the defence deals.''

Former Chief of Army Staff General S. Roychowdhary (1994-97) said he was appalled by the incident. ``I am deeply upset and this might have a long-term affect on defence preparedness.''

``It should be remembered that after the Bofors scandal, the merits and demerits of the deal were decided outside the armed forces. The after-affect of the deal was that the decision-making process, which was part of the modernisation of the armed forces, got halted. The delayed effect of that was felt even during Kargil,'' he said.

``So care should be taken that the process does not get derailed,'' he stressed, adding that ``every country's armed forces need agents of manufacturers abroad who can bring foreign systems to the country.