Veterans upset over bid to gag them

Army veterans are up in arms over the Army headquarters planning to draw up a code of ethics to gag them from criticising the government.

The controversial move comes to silence the ex-servicemen’s outcry on issues like withdrawal of incometax exemption on disability pension, opening up the cantonment roads and defective “one rank, one pension.”

Embarrassed over the exservicemen becoming vocal in raising their grievances in the media, leaving the Army embarrassed. Their latest vociferous protests ultimately forced the government to restore the scholarships provided to the wards of the serving personnel.

The Army HQ has drawn up a draft of the undertaking that the serving officers will have to sign on retirement to adhere to the code of conducts or ethics. The draft rules say those violating the proposed code of conduct will invite punishment.

At present, the Army Act covers only the officers serving in the force and not the veterans. Once they hang their boots, the exservicemen are covered by the normal law of the land like the Indian Penal Code.

Besides pension, medical and canteen facilities, the ex-servicemen are also allowed to prefix the last rank they held in the Army. The revelation of the code of ethics for the retired officers came in a TV interview last Saturday from Lt General Ashwani Kumar, the former Army adjutant general who retired last week.

Justifying the code of conduct, sources in the Defence Ministry said it was felt necessary since some retired officers gave comments on the social media that created a negative image of the Army. They said it will be implemented only after due consultations, first with the serving officers and then with ex-servicemen and their organisations.

They said an officer keeps his last rank on retirement and as such he should have some kind of discipline fit for the rank. Ashwani Kumar said since this is a tri-service issue and, the proposal will have to go through various triservice commiteees.