Government endangering India's security infra: Congress
New Delhi, June 27: Accusing Narendra Modi government of endangering India's security infrastructure and using armed forces as "political fodder", the Congress on Monday said the government has failed to provide them with the most "fundamental resources to perform their gruelling duties".
Citing a parliamentary report, Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said: "In a scathing indictment of the Modi government, Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen. Sarath Chand had testified to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, headed by Major General B.C. Khanduri, and exposed a shameful state of neglect towards the requirements of our armed forces."
"He (Chand) has reiterated the fact that only 8 per cent of our equipment is state-of-the-art, 68 per cent is vintage ... there's not enough resources to undertake the construction of strategic roads on China border and 'Make in India' scheme in Defence has completely failed," she said in a statement.
Chaturvedi asked: "Is Modi government endangering our 'security infrastructure'? Is it guilty of putting the life of our soldiers in danger? Are they using our soldiers as ‘political fodder' - using their sacrifice for vote garnering?
"The Modi government has failed in its most basic and fundamental obligation, i.e. to ensure that our armed forces are provided with the most fundamental resources to perform their gruelling duties," she added.
Chaturvedi said that the implications of this expose for national security are far-reaching.
"Our soldiers sacrifice their lives daily. 280 Jawans have been martyred in Jammu and Kashmir (since 2014) and 243 martyred in Naxal attacks (since 2015).
"The Maoist attack which led to the martyrdom of six Jaguar jawans proves that Modi government has messed up the security infrastructure," she added.
Attacking the government, Chaturvedi said: "There is no money to buy weapons and equipment. The morale of armed forces is the lowest due to the step-motherly treatment meted out to them by the BJP government, and constant degradation and down gradation of ranks."
"A clear testimony to this fact is that in Union Budget 2018-19, Defence got just 1.58 per cent of GDP, lowest allocation since 1962. Our armed forces are staring at a crisis caused by an unqualified government," she said.
She said that the budget allocation on defence should be done judiciously and ready-to-attack and state-of-the-art weapons should be immediately made available to the armed forces.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
