Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday used a media report to hit out at the Government for making “empty slogans” and accused it of asking soldiers to buy their own clothes and shoes. The report, which has, however, been denied officially by the Defence Ministry, claimed the Army is seeking to cut 50 per cent supply from state-run ordnance factories.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra categorically denied the charge. The media report claimed that the Indian Army has decided to cut down its supplies from state-owned ordnance factories and ensure that the money is instead spent on procuring adequate stock of critical ammunition and spares.
“MAKE (empty slogans and useless acronyms) IN INDIA.... Meanwhile, make our soldiers buy their own clothes and shoes,” Rahul said on Twitter.
The report further claimed that supplies such as clothing (combat dress, berets, belts, shoes) to soldiers will be hit due to the move and soldiers will have to spend their own money to buy uniforms and other clothes from civilian markets.