Lt Gen BS Raju to be new Vice Chief of Army
New Delhi(PTI): Lt Gen Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the next vice chief of the Army Staff on May 1, the defence ministry said on Friday.
Lt Gen Raju will succeed incumbent Lt Gen Manoj Pande who will take the reins of the 1.3 million-strong Army after Army Chief Gen MM Naravane completes his term on Saturday.
A qualified helicopter pilot, Lt Gen Raju is currently serving as the Director General Military Operations and oversaw the Army's overall operational readiness in eastern Ladakh.
An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the JAT Regiment on December 15, 1984.
In his illustrious career spanning 38 years, he had commanded his battalion during 'Operation Parakram' in the Western theatre and in Jammu and Kashmir.
Lt Gen Raju holds the distinction of commanding the Uri brigade along the Line of Control, a counter-insurgency force and at the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps.
The officer also served as the commandant of the Indian military training team in Bhutan.
The officer also served in several important regimental, staff and instructional appointments in the Army headquarters and in field formations.
"The general officer is a qualified helicopter pilot having carried out operational flying in Somalia, as part of UNOSOM II (UN peacekeeping and humanitarian missions II)," the defence ministry said.
"Lt Gen Raju has attended all important career courses in India and has had the privilege of doing his NDC at Royal College of Defence Studies, United Kingdom," it said in a statement.
He also holds a distinguished Master's programme degree in counter terrorism at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey in the US.
For his illustrious contribution to the service, he has been awarded Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Yudh Seva Medal.
ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರಾದ ಲೆಫ್ಟಿನೆಂಟ್ ಜನರಲ್ ಬಗ್ಗವಳ್ಳಿ ಸೋಮಶೇಖರ ರಾಜು ಅವರು ಭಾರತೀಯ ಸೇನಾಪಡೆಯ ಉಪ ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ಥರಾಗಿ ನೇಮಕ ಆಗಿರುವುದು ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರೆಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ಕ್ಷಣ & ಸಂಭ್ರಮದ ಸಂದರ್ಭ.
— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) April 30, 2022
ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ರಕ್ಷಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸದಾ ಮುಂಚೂಣಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಪರಂಪರೆಯ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಗರಿ ಜನರಲ್ ಬಿ.ಎಸ್.ರಾಜು ಅವರು.#Lieutenant_General_BS_Raju pic.twitter.com/7NO5U9N1do
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
