The Army is “one team” and soldiers must make their complaints internally, Army chief General Bipin Rawat has said, referring to recent videos of jawans of security forces complaining about harassment.
“Whoever has any complaint can tell me directly,” said General Rawat in New Delhi at his first press conference. “If a soldier writes to us regarding his grievances penning down his identity, we will ensure that his identity is not made public.”
“Let troops have confidence in seniors of the Army that their grievances will be addressed,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Let troops have confidence in seniors of the Army that their grievances will be addressed,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“This press conference, which is held on eve of the Army Day, is very relevant to us, as I would like to reach every jawan through you (media). We are one team and we work as one force to ensure India is secure and peaceful,” he was quoted by NDTV as saying.
Soldiers must use complaint boxes and not social media for complaints, he said.
General’s Rawat comments came after news of an Army jawan who is seen a video complaining about alleged harassment by superiors. “I had written an application to the PM in which I said that soldiers, who act as sahayaks, should not be made to polish shoes of officers,” Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh is heard saying in the video.
Before that, a BSF trooper Tej Bahadur Yadav and Central Reserve Police Force constable Jeet Singh posted videos on social media and alleged they were being harassed and made to work in tough conditions.
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