Those protesting CAA misguiding people: Indian army chief

NEW DELHI: Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat Thursday condemned the severe violence carried out by students protesting against the newly-introduced Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in various parts of the country.

Speaking at an event, Rawat said the students resorting to violence were not leading people to the right path. He said the way the students of various colleges and universities were leading the mob to indulge in arson, hooliganism and vandalism in various cities and states across the country on the pretext of protests against the CAA was not what leadership was about, the international media reports. “Leadership is all about leading. It is all about when you move forward, everybody follows. It is not that simple. It appears simple but it is a very complex phenomenon. Leaders are those who lead people in the right direction. Leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate directions,” Rawat said, referring to anti-CAA protests led by students of various colleges and universities.

“As we are witnessing in a large number of universities and colleges, students the way they are leading masses and crowds to carry out arson and violence in cities and towns. This is not leadership,” General Rawat said. General Bipin’s criticism of people leading protests against the Citizenship Amendment did not go down well with the opposition parties. Congress spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa lashed out at Rawat. “Army chief Bipin Rawat speaking against CAA protests is wholly against constitutional democracy,” he tweeted.

“If Army chief is allowed to speak on political issues today, it also permits him to attempt an Army takeover tomorrow!” Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said he agreed with Rawat, but added that “leaders are not those who allow their followers to indulge in genocide of communal violence”. “Do you agree with me General saheb?” he asked. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi saidleadership was about knowing the limits of one’s office. “It is about understanding the idea of civilian supremacy and preserving the integrity of the institution that you head,” he added.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury accused Rawat of breaching the limits of his role. Yechury tweeted the formal statement of the party, and said: “The Army chief’s statement underlines as to how the situation has degenerated under the Modi government where the highest officer in uniform can so brazenly breach the limits of his institutional role.”

He wondered whether India was going the Pakistan way of politicising the military.

“Such obnoxious interference in matters of democratic struggles from top ranking military professionals is unheard of in history of independent India,” Yechury said.

The CPI (M) leader urged Rawat to apologise to the country, and also demanded that the Narendra Modi government censure the Army chief.

Massive protests are being held in different parts of the country by students against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Sporadic incidents of violence have been witnessed in Karnataka’s Mangaluru, Delhi and several parts of Uttar Pradesh in the last fortnight.

The protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act began from Jamia Millia Islamia University soon after the Indian Parliament enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on December 11.