Dear Editor,
When a military officer enters into training academies, he is asked to follow two principles, “Never make a promise that can’t be fulfilled” and “Never make a wrong statement”. The military officers act upon these principles and are thus, trusted by their subordinates and the public. Politicians make promises to break, but not the soldiers. If their credibility is lost, everything is lost. Unfortunately, the government has made the Army Chief lose his “credibility” by asking him to make a false statement that the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme would be implemented by a particular date. The government must restore the Army Chief’s “credibility” lest the troops would lose faith in him. Alternatively, the Chief must clarify that he was misled into making the said statement.
Brig Harwant Singh (Retd)
Mohali