"Army Shouldn't Be Involved In Politics": Army Chief On Rahul Gandhi Remark

Expressing his reservations over engaging the defence forces in a political slugfest, Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi has said the army should not be involved in politics.

"I think the political answer has been given by Raksha Mantri ji (Rajnath Singh) in the form of a tweet and the Defence Ministry has given a description which has been given out. But things which I learned - it is important that I must make an endeavour that the army should not be involved in politics," General Dwivedi told ANI in an exclusive interview.

He was asked to comment on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks in parliament that the Chief of Army Staff has already stated that China has made an incursion into Indian territory.

The remarks of the Opposition leader were refuted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in detail.

Asked about his earlier remarks in a press conference that the terrain around the Indo-China border has been "doctored' by either China or India, General Dwivedi noted the Indian Army has not moved into a disputed territory, but instead have just become "comfortable" and "assertive".

"If you take your mind back to 2007, or even 2001, earlier ITBP (Indo-Tibetian Border Police) used to control the area, the Indian Army was negligible but over a period of time we have moved ahead, similarly China also," General Dwivedi said.

Explaining the process of expanding habitat and creating infrastructure on the LAC (Line of Actual Control) for soldiers, the army chief said "when you have more soldiers, you have billeting (assigning quarters) for them, you require transportation for them, roads and tracks are required."

"It is not that we have come to a disputed (area) where there are some issues. Wherever we are, we have made ourselves assertive and comfortable. If all that is the case, then the terrain will be doctored because you have to make the roads, billeting, since it has been done by both the sides, therefore, that is what I wanted to say," he added.

He further commented on the stockpiling of resources, saying this has happened due to there being more soldiers in the area.

"Lets say, earlier you had 100 troops, now you have a thousand troops. You need ration, storage for a thousand people. Let's say if tomorrow something critical comes up, then you have another 200 people coming in. Now you have to arrange for their stay also, their ration and their fighting capabilities... Both sides are doing this," he told ANI.

Earlier this month, Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said China is "sitting inside this country" because a flagship programme of 'Make in India' has failed. That remark had been strongly refuted by the Defence Minister.

Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President's address, Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "denied that Chinese forces are inside our territory but... Chief of Army Staff has said that the Chinese are inside our territory."

In a rebuttal, the Defence Minister posted on X, "The Army Chief's remarks referred only to the disturbance of traditional patrolling by both sides. He also mentioned that these practices have been restored to their traditional pattern as part of the recent disengagement. Government has shared these details in Parliament."

Recently, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing to talk with Chinese officials and discussed the next steps of bilateral relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains.

India and China reached an agreement in October on patrolling arrangements in the Depsang Plains and Demchok, two friction points along the LAC. The understanding was reached after earlier disengagement in other friction points in eastern Ladakh following meetings at diplomatic and military levels.