Defence Ministry sends spokesperson on leave after tweet criticising military officials

Pic Courtesy: mod.gov.in

The Ministry of Defence on Friday appointed Colonel Aman Anand as its acting official spokesperson after incumbent spokesperson, Swarnashree Rao Rajshekhar, was proceeded on leave, after she “inadvertently” posted a tweet criticising misuse of privileges by military officials.

She posted the tweet in response to a comment by former Navy Chief Admiral (retired) Arun Prakash. Following angry reactions from former military veterans, she took to microblogging site Twitter to say, “The tweet was inadvertently done and the same is deeply regretted please.”

Admiral Prakash retweeted a photograph showing a military flag on the bonnet of an official car of the Internal Financial Adviser to the Western Command of the Army.

"Even if misuse of an Army Command's insignia by a civilian is not a cognizable offence, the person needs to be reprimanded by the GOC in C whose 'Financial Adviser' he is," Prakash tweeted.

Responding to the former Navy Chief's comments, Rajashekar, tweeted, "What about misuse of jawans in your residence during an officer's tenure sir? And how about children being picked up and dropped to school in Fauji (military) gaadis (vehicles)? Not to forget Madam's shopping expedition on government vehicles. And endless parties...Who pays for that?".

Later, Rajashekar, an official from the Defence Accounts Service, deleted the tweet.

Her response to 72-year-old Admiral Prakash, a war hero who was chief of Navy Staff between July 2004 and October 2006, drew sharp reactions from military veterans. Some of them even said the principal spokesperson's comments reflected the approach of the bureaucracy towards the armed forces.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrashekhar also reacted strongly to her tweet, demanding that she must be sacked.

(With PTI and ANI inputs)