State Congress chief spokesperson Mathura Datt Joshi claimed on Saturday that the election commission had stepped in to impose restrictions on the Commanders’ Conference at IMA after his party had submitted a memorandum asking them to defer the congregation till after the election process was completed in the state on February 15. “We are happy that the election commission has acted following our submission restraining the Prime Minister and Defence minister from taking political mileage out of it. However, regrettably, they trampled the norms laid down by the commission,” he said.
“Through the media, we have come to know that a huge number of BJP leaders and activists had turned up at Jollygrant airport,” he said, while adding that his party was annoyed with the timing of the event and not with the event itself.
“It is happening for the first time in the country that the Centre is politicizing the services of the defence forces, eyes on their sectarian political interests. This is a dangerous trend which can dent the image of the defence institutions,” Joshi said.
He further said that his party would again approach the election commission to point out the violation of the laid-down norms by the VVIPs who attended the high profile congregation of the military personnel.