I opposed Army deployment in anti-naxal ops: Gen VK Singh

Former Army Chief Gen VK Singh has claimed that the then Home Minister P Chidambaram had not liked his opposition to the deployment of army in the Naxal-affected areas.

Recalling a meeting he had with the Minister in his North Block office, Gen Singh said in his just-published autobiography 'Courage and Convictions' that Chidambaram told him "You know the Naxal problem was a major national issue. So, why do you oppose the deployment of the Army in Naxal areas?"

"This confirmed my fear that the Government was indeed considering asking the Army to deploy in the heartland of India," he said adding that during the conversation, the Minister was looking at him "intently, with a half-smile on his lips".

Gen Singh said he told the Minister that "I am fully aware of the situation on the ground. It is a socio-economic and governance issue and needs to be addressed accordingly.

"At the same time, it is not a secessionist movement and it would not be correct to use the Army against our own people."

He said the smile never left the Minister's face. "He was too much suave to show any emotion but I could sense that he had not liked my reply."

The former army chief said soon after he took over the Army in 2010, the Home Ministry had not liked his comments on the killing of over 70 people in the Dantewada massacre which suggested that there was a need to review the training and operational procedures of the paramilitary forces."

"In the ensuing days, the Home Ministry felt that I had encroached upon its turf and there were indications that they were none too happy about my comments. This discomfort was possibly aided by the fact that there was much talk around this time, at various levels, about Army's possible deployment against the Naxalite-Maoist movement," he said.On the controversial Technical Support Division (TSD) created during his tenure, the former Army Chief said after the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, the National Security Adviser had sought to know if there was a covert capability to hit back at Pakistan.

"The NSA had turned to the Army Chief and asked him if the Military Intelligence could create an organisation," he said in the book.

Singh said the proposal made by the then Director General Military Intelligence Lt Gen RK Loomba included increasing the scope of the proposed intelligence unit to have tentacles in neighbouring countries and surrounding areas.

The unit has been mired in controversy after allegations were levelled against it that it was involved in snooping the telephones of important officers in the Defence Ministry and carrying out unauthorised operations in Jammu and Kashmir against the state government there.

On the issue of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Singh attacked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for opposing the "enabling act" for the armed forces to operate there.

"It was amusing to find out that the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir joining the issue on the AFSPA because, for him, this was a political issue as it was in the manifesto his party," he said.

Singh said, "All kinds of statements emanated from Omar Abdullah, who did not understand the actual ground position. I was surprised that his advisors did not tell him that army was not operating in any of the major town and any 'so-called partial withdrawal' would have had serious consequences."

He said the Army, under Gen Deepak Kapoor, had discussed the partial withdrawal or dilution of AFSPA.

"I pointed out the pitfalls and was supported in this by the majority of Army commanders who believed that we should not be tinkering with this enabling act," he claimed.