lok Sabha MP from Garhwal and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj-Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (Rtd) has requested the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to relax the norms of ‘Recruitable Men Population’ (RMP) for Uttarakhand. The RMP decides the number of army recruitments form any State. He was addressing newsmen here at the State BJP office on Friday.
The BJP leader who also is the Chairman of parliamentary standing committee on defence said that the RMP is based on population and as population of Uttarakhand is less it affects quantity of recruitment from the state. He said that he has taken up the issue with the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and apprised him of the glorious military past of the state.
“The first Victoria Cross the highest military award of the British and the first Paramvir Chakra after independence were bestowed upon the soldiers belonging to the state” he said. The relaxation in the RMP norms to the state would increase the number of recruitments from the state. He informed that he is also trying to ensure that more units of National Cadet Corps (NCC) are created in the state. In response to a question he said that a long term planning is needed for improvements in the armed forces. He accused the former UPA government for neglecting the defense sector.
Khanduri said that the Central government has given its acceptance for setting up a Sainik school in Rudraprayag but the state government is sitting over a letter written by the Sainik School Society, Ministry of Defence. Khanduri said that the state government has to merely sign a memorandum of agreement for establishing the school and send it to the Defence Ministry. The Board of governors of Sainik Schools Society had accorded approval for setting up the school at Thati Badma Tehsil Jakholi, District Rudraprayag in the state. Khanduri requested the state chief Minister Harish Rawat to ensure that the pending agreement is sent immediately to the central government so that the school is set up. He said that the school would help the students of Garhwal division to become officers in armed forces.
The former CM flayed the Uttarakhand government for reversing all those policy decisions which if implemented would have helped in providing good governance to the people of the state. The senior BJP leader listed the lokpal bill, transfer act of teacher and right to service act as such initiatives of previous BJP government which the Congress government reversed.