Govt should come out with truth on "distrust" issue with Army: BJP

New Delhi: BJP on Friday termed as "serious" comments by former DGMO Lt Gen AK Choudhary that there may have been "distrust" between the Army and the government in connection with movement of troops near Delhi in 2012 and asked the government to come out with truth on the issue.

"The government should take the people of India into confidence and explain what exactly happened. It is a very sensitive matter concerning the military on one hand and the security of the country on the other. It is a very serious matter. I hope the government will clarify what is the truth," BJP leader M Venakaih Naidu said at the party briefing. BJP`s deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad said "the distrust between the government and the army is a matter of serious concern. Army protects the nation and assures to protects its citizen. If this type of reports come, it is a matter of serious concern." Choudhary`s comments have triggered a fresh controversy over the movement of army units close to Delhi in 2012. "There was misconception or there was perceptional difference or there may be distrust," Choudhary was quoted as saying by a newspaper today. He said the then Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma had asked him to send the troops back as the government at the highest level was "worried" over this. BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, "BJP is proud of the apolitical link of Indian Army. We are proud of its ethics and morals. Therefore, we would not like to comment on reports based on statements of somebody who has just retired because we believe in our armed forces". Javadekar said he has been a member of the Parliamentary Committee on defence and has seen the armed forces in real sense for the last four years. "Therefore, I can say that we should not make a sensational news out of something. I don`t believe that Indian army has at anytime got politicised," he told reporters.