Peeyush 🇮🇳

#WATCH | Delhi: On Sonia Gandhi's book, BJP leader HS Phoolka says, "In the book written by Sonia Gandhi, she has attempted to grant a self-clean chit to her own family—even regarding the massacre of Sikhs. In her book, she claims that on the night of October 31st, Rajiv Gandhi instructed the Army Chief, General Vaidya, to call in the Army. She asserts that General Vaidya himself decided against using the Army units stationed near Delhi—purportedly because they included Sikh soldiers—and instead ordered troops from further away, such as Dehradun. She suggests that this was General Vaidya’s personal decision, and that the resulting delay in the troops' arrival caused the delay in their deployment. This account is entirely contrary to the facts. Firstly, the claim that General Vaidya decided not to deploy Sikh soldiers—and that there were no other troops available near Delhi—is completely at odds with the facts. On October 31st and the morning of November 1st, there were 6,000 Army personnel available in Delhi. The Mishra Commission noted that approximately 6,000 soldiers were present in the city, yet they were not deployed. Furthermore, the Mishra Commission stated that had even 5,000 of these soldiers been deployed to march through the streets of Delhi on the morning of November 1st, at least 2,000 Sikh lives could have been saved. This is documented in the Mishra Commission’s report, and the Nanavati Commission has also noted the same. Now, consider the statements provided by the Army Chief, General Vaidya. General Vaidya stated that he took the initiative himself—independent of any instructions from Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi—to ensure the Army was available in Delhi. He consulted the GOC (General Officer Commanding) Delhi, who confirmed that 6,000 troops were available. General Vaidya then proceeded to call in the Army, and the troops arrived by that evening. Furthermore, look at the claim made by Sonia Gandhi—an attempt to absolve herself—that the Army was not available on November 1st and therefore could not be deployed. This is entirely contradicted by the official record. According to the Mishra Commission report, Rajiv Gandhi did alert General Vaidya; however, it is not the Army Chief’s role to unilaterally deploy the Army—that is the responsibility of the civil administration. Moreover, the Mishra Commission noted that had those 5,000 soldiers—who were already present in Delhi on November 1st—been deployed, the lives of 2,000 Sikhs could have been saved. Now, Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister at the time. What action did Rajiv Gandhi take? If Rajiv Gandhi himself is not held responsible, then what action did he take against those who were responsible for these massacres of Sikhs—those who failed to call upon the army, which was readily available in Delhi on November 1st? In his first speech—at his very first rally—Rajiv Gandhi remarked that "when a big tree falls, the earth shakes." In doing so, he essentially attempted to justify the entire massacre. And now, in her book, Sonia Gandhi attempts to absolve Rajiv Gandhi and their family. This stands in direct contradiction to the official record. It is an absolute lie."

Defence Officials gave detailed answered related to Agnipath Scheme. Q1. Are all Agniveers going to be absorbed after six years? Ans: Yes, all Agniveers will now be absorbed in the regular cadre. The first 25% will be absorbed after the first engagement period of four years, and all of the balance 75% will be absorbed (without any limit) after the second engagement period. The key criteria are that the Agniveer must be willing, physically fit and disciplined. Q2. What happens to the seniority of the 75% Agniveers who are not permanently absorbed after four years? Ans: Their seniority is protected. On becoming regulars, they will be placed immediately after their own batchmates who joined the regular cadre after four years. They will therefore not become junior to any subsequent batch. Q3. Has the scheme been rolled back? Ans: The scheme has not been rolled back. Only another engagement period of two years has been introduced, which creates a pathway for all Agniveers to be absorbed as regular soldiers after this engagement period.