The government asserted today weeks after Army chief Bipin Rawat's comment had sparked a row. (File)
The armed forces are "apolitical", the government today asserted in the Lok Sabha, weeks after Army chief Bipin Rawat's comment that the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) was growing faster than the BJP in Assam sparked a row.
"Armed forces in India are apolitical," Subhash Bhamre, Minister of State in the Defence Ministry, said in a written response to a question in Parliament.
BJP MPs Manoj Rajoria and Raghav Lakhanpal had asked the government if it was aware of any "attempts at the politicisation of the armed forces".
Mr Rawat's remarks last month that the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) had been growing faster than the BJP in Assam because of the support of Muslims, with Pakistan and China pushing Bangladeshi migrants into the northeastern part of the country to destabilise India, had stoked a political controversy.
AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal had then tweeted, "By making such a statement, the Army chief has indulged in politics which is against the constitutional mandate given to him."