Both the Congress and the BJP showed rare unity in rubbishing a news report on “unusual” troop movement towards the Capital in the middle of January.
Appreciating the clarifications given by the Army and the Defence Ministry, both the parties said the report was a “figment of imagination.” The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Defence Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, termed the report as baseless.
“These are alarmist reports. They should not be taken at face value,” Dr Singh told reporters here.
Mr Antony said the country's defence forces will not do anything to undermine democracy. The Congress felt there was “not an iota of truth” in the report. The BJP stated that there should not be any room for a “sponsored story.”
Sources in the Government and in the Congress feared that there was a concerted effort to create panic among the public. “The report was mischievous,” a top Congress leader said adding that there was an attempt to create schism between the Army and the Government.
Parliament's standing committee on defence also discussed the issue.
The Defence Secretary, Mr Shashi Kant Sharma, and Army Vice-Chief General S.K. Singh, who appeared before the panel on a discussion on defence budget, had to face curious questions from the panel.
Sources in the panel said both Mr Sharma and General Singh denied the indications of the report and said such movements are “routine”.
“All members in the committee condemned the inferences in the media report,” a committee member said.
The BJP also stood by the Government on the issue.
Chief spokesperson of the party Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad ignored a statement by party MP Balbir Punj's comment that Mr Antony should resign based on the report. Mr Prasad said the BJP was “assured” by the denial of the report by the Government and the Army.
“I am the chief spokesperson and the General Secretary of the party,” Mr Prasad said indicating that what he said is the “official” line.
He, however, wanted the Prime Minister to take a “proactive” role to ensure equilibrium between the civilian leadership and the Army.