Forces sufficiently equipped: Jaitley

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley assured the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that the Indian armed forces are "reasonably and sufficiently equipped" and not to be worried over a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled in Parliament last Friday on arms and ammunitions not enough for 40 days if a fullscale war breaks out.

He said the report is only a follow-up of the situation recorded by the CAG in 2013 and as such it should be read in relation to the particular point of time. Since then significant progress has been made as the procurement has been simplified and powers decentralised, he said.

Jaitley was responding to a concern expressed by Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav, who said the government need not explain but it should take care that the forces are fully equipped to meet any eventuality.

Congress deputy leader Anand Sharma protested that the procurement procedure was simplified only 10 days ago which was not enough time to equip the Army. He said arms and ammunitions are not like icecream that can be bought off the shelf from market.

Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agrawal expressed concern over the army operations in Kashmir and on the borders being covered live by the TV networks. He said the military operations have their own secrecy and as such should not be given access to journalists. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien agreed that this was a valid point.

Agrawal also objected to almost daily debates in the TV studios by the retired military officers on what India has and what it lacks. He wanted the government to stop such debates.