Chennai, Oct 3 (TNN): Former Army chief General VK Singh on Thursday said no Army funds have been misused in Jammu and Kashmir and they have been used to bring stability and harmony in the state.
Participating in a panel discussion on governance issues jointly organized by the Forum for Integrity in Governance and the Chennai chapter of the Anti-Corruption Movement at Loyola College, Singh said the funds were used for developmental and infrastructural purposes. He was reacting to the controversy over his recent statement that the Army had funded political leaders in Kashmir.
According to him, the Army as an institution remains absolutely apolitical and it works for the government with national interest in mind. "Army people also vote for parties. If someone says army is politicized, then I don't know what to say. As an institution, it's never politicized. Everything happening in the Army is for institutional integrity," he said.
Reacting to a question on the infiltration from Pakistan into the Keran sector of Kashmir, the former Army chief said, "I retired one and half years back. I don't know how prepared the Army is now. But I think whatever has happened is an intelligence failure. When we start tinkering with our intelligence, these kinds of things are bound to happen. I am sure the Army must be investigating."
Elaborating on the various issues India faced from the neighboring countries, Singh said there was trust deficit when it came to India's relations with Pakistan. China is vying with India to become a world power and border issues with that country remains unresolved.
"Our relations with even Nepal, a friendly country, are not so good. The same is case with Bhutan. Our policies are such it creates distrust in people of Bhutan," he said, and added that domestic politics spoiled the country's relations Bangladesh.
"Our relations with Sri Lanka are well known. We went to assist Tamils and landed up fighting them. We are not able to see the correct game plan."
"Myanmar forms important part of our look east policy. However, we have managed to spoil the relations," he added.
Speaking about the Left wing extremism in central India, he said this was because the government failed to look after the interest of indigenous people. "Other problems like separate homeland, if they are not addressed, have the potential to grow like the naxal movement," he warned.
Former chief election commission T S Krishnamoorthy, retired IAS officer M G Devasahayam and Justice (rtd) K Chandru were among the others who participated in the panel discussion.
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