Defence not getting due share: Gen Rawat

Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that the defence sector is not getting its due share even as the Indian economy is developing, adding that India should learn from China on this count.

Calling it an "economy-security deficit", he said: "There is a general thinking that expenditure on defence is a burden on our economy... we need to appreciate that defence and economy go hand in hand."

"A strong military will help in ensuring stability along the border, within the nation and hinterland. That will help develop the economy," General Rawat said while speaking at a book release event here.

The Army chief said a strong force is required to ensure the safety of people and those who are investing.

"This is a deficit that remains. While we are developing our economy, the military somehow is not getting its due share," he said.

"We need to learn from China. While they were developing the economy, development of military is a part."

A parliamentary panel, in its report tabled in Parliament in this year's Budget session, had said that budgetary provisioning for the Army is critically short and is likely to adversely affect the modernisation and operational preparedness of the force.

The Army chief said that India needs to form alliances so that it can encircle its western and northern neighbours.

Calling partition a historic deficit, he said: "India had reach up to the Middle East, but with the creation of Pakistan there has been a break.

"We have to now look at new alliances -- whether it is through Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It not only helps us in creating two-front dilemma for our western neighbours, but also encirclement of our northern neighbour from the west."

"While we talk of our own encirclement, we have to look at counter-encirclement of some of our adversaries. Developing alliances to overcome this deficit is important," General Rawat said.

He also said that India should form alliances that can get it into the United Nations Security Council.

"Other part of security deficit is creating alliances so that we find our rightful place in the Security Council. Time has come for India to have a say in all that happens in the United Nations," he said.

--IANS

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