Someone may have read too much (into movements of troops): MoS

He was asked to comment on The Indian Express report of April 4 that the movement of two Army units towards New Delhi had set off alarm bells in the government.

“If there were movements of troops,we need not read too much into it. And if there are movements of troops that are necessitated by certain conditions,I am sure that there are protocols that exist where somebody has to be informed or somebody has to be kept in the loop,” Raju said.

Asked whether these protocols had been violated that night,Raju said he was not privy to such information.

Thapar claimed that he had been informed by “reliable” sources that at 5.30 am on January 17,the Intelligence Bureau chief had contacted retired defence secretaries to inquire about protocols and rules that determine troop movement and asked Raju whether this did not suggest that the government was “perturbed” by the situation.

“If that is true,I am sure if someone has raised the flag,I am sure people would have followed it up. But this thing is like casting aspersions on the patriotism of the forces. I am sure that our forces would not do anything like that,” Raju said.

Throughout the interview,Raju did not deny any of the facts reported by The Indian Express in its news report. Asked about Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma speaking to the Director General of Military Operations to reverse the movement,Raju said he “was not privy” to that information.

On a query as to why the government had panicked that night,Raju said,“I would not put it that the government had reacted. It’s probably someone down the line who might have read too much into it.”

When Thapar asked whether The Indian Express report could be explained as someone trying to create mischief,alerting the government by exaggerating a situation that was “ordinary and straightforward”,Raju said: “I would like to read it that way.”

“It is a possibility that people would try to create a little bit of confusion in the current scenario. And I don’t think that we should react too much into these things. We know what our national interests are. We know what has to be done to protect our national interests,and I think we are acting in accordance,” Raju said.

Calling the Army chief a “clean man” and a “great man”,Raju said that General V K Singh should have “followed the norms” when he received the alleged bribe offer. Asked what these “norms” were,the minister said that the Army Chief was aware of these. “He should have acted,” he said.