Serious rifts between Indian Navy and Coast Guard have come on the surface over the question of legal responsibility that still surrounds the infamous boat mission carried out recently by Indian Coast Guard (CG), The News has learnt on good authority. Well-informed sources have told The News that although the said operation was launched and executed at the behest of the National Technological Research Organization, which is directly under Indian’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Dovl, the CG authorities have denied access to Navy to the Coast Guard ship. According to the latest information available, a Commodore rank officer was nominated by Indian Navy to get the details from the Coast Guard ship which carried out the operation but the Commodore was denied access by Indian CG authorities. The sources say that Navy is overall in-charge of coastal security. As such it should have been given access to the CG ship. The sources have further opined that the mission itself has not only exposed the fight over the legal responsibility for the operation but has also brought out the rift between the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard in public domain. Already, a political debate is still on vis-à-vis this controversy that has become additionally controversial following the revelations by the ICG’s DIG Loshali which, according to sources, has “left the Indian government red faced”. The Indian National Congress and Aam Admi Party also slammed the Central government over the contradictions on the boat incident. In the wake of this criticism, the Union defence minister of India had promised to make the facts of the case public, but nothing has been done so far. The entire operation, as it now stands proved beyond doubt, was ill-conceived and poorly planned, causing embarrassment to Indian leadership, especially its defence establishment which is also contemplating the court-martial of DIG Loshali whose dismissal from service is also on the cards.
