Army brass defied Government on pay hike by citing ‘larger interest of the services’

The armed forces have agreed to implement revised pay scales and arrears from October 1 but in a highly controversial move last Friday, the Army top brass, taking a cue from the Navy, cited “the larger interests of the services” to justify their defiance and “delay” in implementing revised salaries.

The Army signal was sent the day Defence Minister A K Antony talked tough with the three Services chiefs and told them in very clear terms to implement the Cabinet decision on the Sixth Pay Commission report.

Top sources confirmed to The Indian Express that via a signal on September 26 — two days after Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta signalled his men — Lt Gen V K Chaturvedi, Director General, Manpower Planning, under the Adjutant General of Army, informed “all ranks up to unit level” that the revised pay scales were delayed. The signal, being kept under wraps, was sent to Headquarters/Commands and Corps of the 1.1 million-strong Army.

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Kerala violence reaches Delhi: Sangh, CPM clash

In a violent fallout to clashes between cadres of the CPM and Sangh in Kerala, RSS-BJP activists today targeted the CPM head quarters in New Delhi, leading to clashes and stone pelting which left at least 10 CPM members, 12 from the RSS and eight policemen injured. The Rapid Action Force had to be called in and police had to use teargas to scatter the crowds.

Fifteen people, including six BJP councillors and two former MLAs, were later arrested and charged with rioting, obstructing a public servant on duty and holding a demonstration without prior permission.

Trouble began this morning when over Sangh activists marched up to A K Gopalan Bhawan - the CPM headquar ters in Gole Market - where a meeting of the party central committee was on. "At around 11 am, when we took a break for tea, we realised that a few RSS protestors were forcing their way into our office. The police were unable to stop them. When we tried to reason with them, they started pelting stones," said Hari Singh Kang, a CPM central committee member who was among the injured.

The BJP and RSS members, on the other hand, claimed they were leading a peaceful protest over seven deaths in Kannur in Kerala. They alleged that the CPM began the stone-pelting.

"We were in a peaceful protest and before we knew it, Left party members were pelting stones at us from the first floor of their office. I tried to stop our party workers from retaliating when a big stone hit me in the head," said Moolchand Chawla of the BJP. "They provoked us into retaliating but we remained peaceful," he said.


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