"Officers indulging in sycophancy with an eye on their careers through ‘eye wash’ need to be identified and those conducting themselves with dignity, often labelled as ‘work horses’, need to be given their dues," said General Bipin Rawat.
In a strong message to his 1.3 million soldiers and officers, Army chief General Bipin Rawat has warned that he would not tolerate any case of moral turpitude and corruption in the forces and all those indulging in such activities would be thrown out without hesitation, irrespective of rank and status.
In his 37-point talk to the soldiers, the Army chief hit out at all corrupt practices, including illegal sale of CSD liquor, sycophancy for promotions, and also called for transparency in the services.
1. Weeding out of corrupt practices by those involved in contracts management, irrespective of their rank or stature.
2. The Indian Army functions as a team and we all fight together to achieve best results on the battlefield. Each arm/service has a role to play in enhancing overall output of the forces. We need to reassure all arms/services that we are equals as comrades-in-arms with each component playing a vital role in synergising our effort for combat.
3. Officers indulging in sycophancy with an eye on their careers through ‘eye wash’ need to be identified and those conducting themselves with dignity, often labelled as ‘work horses’, need to be given their dues.
4. All regimental/station functions must be military-like, without being ostentatious.
5. Judicious expenditure of regimental funds particularly at the level of commanding officers and formation commanders. Commanders/staff who are unaware of regulations on their expenditure and tend to flout rules and regulations with impunity need to be given suitable advisories, failing which they should be dealt with in a stern manner.
6. The dignity of men must be ensured at all times. This should translate into mutual respect between officers and men. Tasking soldiers for menial jobs must be avoided and mundane tasks be outsourced, or simplified by adoption of modern tech. Social disparity amongst officers and JCOs/OR during station/unit functions be reduced, especially for families. Focused welfare activities be followed and unnecessary show off be curtailed.
7. Misuse of CSD liquor and groceries to encourage profits must be curbed. CSD facility is meant for authorised people, but even minor units are indulging in profiteering through inflated sales.
8. Negativity is being propagated on the social media and it needs to be analysed with due diligence in view of the facts. We should not get carried away by taking everything at face value. We need to be careful about material planted by the adversary aimed at weakening the organisation. Social media is an influential and effective tool and we need to ensure its judicious utilisation to strengthen our organisation.
9. All future procurement projects have been classified as ‘Op Critical’, ‘Op Essential’ and ‘Op Important’. The ‘Op Essential’ schemes of any arm will not be initiated, till ‘Op Critical’ schemes of all arms and services have been progressed.
10. The rising cases of moral turpitude are a matter of concern, strict punishment including dismissal without pension is being given to offenders. No case of such indiscipline will be spared.
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