After Army apology to Omar,MoS Defence defends force

“I think as a force on the ground which has to deal first-hand with the situation,the Army has the right to voice its opinion once in a while and it will also be taken note of,” Raju said when asked if the Army was right in airing its objection.

Northern Command spokesman,while commenting on the removal of bunkers from certain areas of Srinagar,had said two days ago that Omar Abdullah had been “compelled to give in” and linked it to the encounter in Qamarwari in Srinagar.

The Command had later issued a revised press release but the damage had been done with Omar complaining to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Northern Army Commander Lt General B S Jaswal has since apologised to Abdullah for it.

Asked about Abdullah’s letter to the Prime Minister about the Army’s “interference” in the state,Raju said,”I think the Army has played a stabilising role there and whatever concerns they have about visibility of the armed forces in the region is being spoken about and discussed.”

He expressed confidence that “this will be addressed in a very practical and pragmatic manner”.