Sudhi Ranjan Sen Monday, September 29, 2008, (New Delhi)
An unclassified telegram from Navy chief, the senior most of the three chiefs, to his men on why the new pay scale will not be implemented drove home a strong message to the government.
However, the unprecedented move aimed at calming the forces ended up angering the government and is now threatening to start a standoff between the forces and the government.
"A committee has been set up, let it start the process. But I hope our genuine demands are addressed thoroughly," said Chief of Army Staff Deepak Kapoor.
But a similar move by the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Suresh Mehta on Wednesday has upset bureaucrats and politicians and they are considering action against him.
On Wednesday, the Army chief told his men that the new pay scales would not be implemented till the anomalies were sorted out and until then they should be patient.
However, ministry sources say the letter sets a dangerous precedent of defying civilian leadership.
But why did the Navy chief write the letter?
Since the pay commission downgraded lieutenant colonels and their peers in the Navy and Air Force, there have been coordination problems with other forces and bureaucrats.
On two occasions after the hike was announced, Coast Guard officers refused to work under the Navy in routine operations on the west coast. And Para-military officers have refused to work under army battalion commanders in field operations.
Sources tell NDTV that Admiral Mehta's letter was really meant to soothe feathers in the forces that may have been ruffled by such incidents.
But can the Navy chief write such a letter?
"A commander has a right to speak to his men. I see no problem in sending a telegram like this," said Lt Gen Raj Kadyan (Retd). Rather than debating whether the Chief of Navy Staff can write such a letter to his men, the civilian leadership should perhaps examine why he wrote it.
Govt, forces at loggerhead over pay scale
Comment: The Bureaucrats have a uncanny skill of putting the cart before the horse to ensure that the Government Machinery neither can move forward nor backward! Just look at the reams of rules and forms packed tight like cordite in the various Government Ministries; they are yet to be digitised!
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