Creation of theatre commands to enhance national security on track: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the creation of theatre commands was on track, the modernisation of armed forces in full swing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the creation of theatre commands to bolster national security was on track, the modernisation of the armed forces was in full swing and the government was working on reforms to ensure the military was always battle ready.

“The appointment of CDS (chief of defence staff) has strengthened integration in the armed forces,” Modi said. (ANI )

In a combative speech in Lok Sabha during a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, he accused the Congress of blocking the reforms, including the Agnipath recruitment scheme, initiated by the government to boost the capabilities of the armed forces to deal with future challenges.

“The appointment of CDS (chief of defence staff) has strengthened integration in the armed forces,” Modi said. “The need for theatre commands was felt for a very long time. Today I can say with satisfaction that we are making progress towards (setting up) theatre commands, which are necessary for national security, with the cooperation of our armed forces.”

The creation of theatre commands is a long-standing and crucial reform for the best use of the military’s resources to fight future wars. On May 10, the government notified the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act, with the law aimed at pushing jointness among the three services.

The Act will empower the government to notify the setting up of inter-services organisations, including joint services commands, and bestow powers on heads of such organisations to act against personnel from any of the three services to ensure discipline and effective discharge of duties.

“The entire country is watching our armed forces and the reforms underway to strengthen them. These reforms never happened (until now) after independence. The armed forces are being modernised so that they can give a befitting reply to any challenge. We are making an all-out effort to ensure they stay battle ready,” Modi said.

The theaterisation model seeks to set up three integrated commands – two land-centric theatres and a maritime theatre command. The armed forces have 17 single-service commands spread across the country. The army and air force have seven commands each, while the navy has three. Creating theatres would involve merging the existing commands.

Modi touched upon the Agnipath scheme for short-term induction of soldiers in the armed forces.

“Our armed forces should be young. They are there to defeat the enemy. We must trust our youth… The armed forces have suffered because of reforms not being initiated in time. The country’s security is a serious matter,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked the government in Lok Sabha over the Agnipath scheme, claiming that the Agniveers recruited under it were not granted the status of martyrs and were akin to “use and throw” labour.

The Congress opposes every reform that strengthens the country’s armed forces, Modi said. “Now the Congress people know that the energy of youth is the biggest strength of the armed forces. They are spreading lies about recruitment so that the youth do not join the army. It is a conspiracy to stop them from joining the armed forces to defend the country,” he said.

Reforms are crucial because of the changing nature of warfare, and it is a big responsibility to prepare the armed forces for future challenges, he said. “In such times, when the armed forces are being modernised and strengthened, the Congress is spreading lies and trying to undermine the efforts towards defence reforms. They can never see the Indian armed forces becoming strong. In Nehru’s time, the country’s armed forces were so weak.”

He said the scams that took place when the Congress was in power had weakened the three services. “They created a tradition of corruption since independence. Be it the Jeep scam, the submarine scam or the Bofors scam, all of these prevented the armed forces from becoming stronger. During the Congress rule, there was a time when our forces did not even have bulletproof jackets. They are now in the Opposition but persisting with their efforts to weaken the armed forces.”

He said when the Congress was in power it did not equip the Indian Air Force with fighter jets. “When we made efforts, the Congress resorted to every kind of conspiracy to ensure that IAF doesn’t get the fighters,” he said referring to Congress’s opposition to the Rafale deal with France.