Not hurt by comparison with General Dyer: Army chief
Reacting to academician Partha Chatterjee comparing him with General Dyer, Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that he is not hurt by the comparison. "See, I am an Army officer, just anything cannot affect me. You have to be prepared to face such... People can misinterpret (comments made by him)," Rawat said.
Army chief Bipin Rawat today looked unfazed by his comparison to General Dyer of the infamous Jallianwala Bagh incident. He said, "See, I am an Army officer, just anything cannot affect me. You have to be prepared to face such. People can misinterpret (comments made by him)."He was asked about academician Partha Chatterjee comparing him with General Dyer, who ordered firing at a crowd of protesters at Jallianwala Bagh of Amritsar on April 13, 1919, in which 379 people were killed."There is no need to react. He (Chatterjee) was trying to draw a reaction from somewhere else. It should not bother me," the General said.Asked if he was not hurt by the comparison, he said: "Not at all".Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat said that the Indian army is well prepared to face external, as well as internal threats to the country. General Bipin Rawat said, "Indian Army is fully ready for a two and a half front war".'INDIA IS READY FOR A MULTI-FRONT WAR'The Army Chief added that even though India is ready for a multi front war there are effective mechanisms available to defuse an adverse situation. "Even the PM has stated that for the last forty years not even a single bullet has been fired on the Indo-China border," said General Rawat.General Rawat also informed that a new strike corps, 17 Strike Corps, is being raised specifically for mountain warfare. On asking about the delay in its raising Army Chief said a process as complex as this takes time. He said, "It is being raised from scratch. The recruitments are on. As it is, to prepare an army soldier it takes about three years from recruitment process to training and then orienting and finally their deployment."General Rawat went on to discuss modernisation plans of the army Army, saying that the Government is aware of our all needs and is supporting us in every manner. "Make in India is a good initiative, it will give results in two to three years," said General Rawat.