: RAKSHA MANTRI’S SOPHISTRY: OPENING OF CANTT ROADS; THE UNKINDEST CUT OF ALL!

SOURCE:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lt-gen-p-g-kamath-91607499

RAKSHA MANTRI’S SOPHISTRY:

OPENING OF CANTT ROADS; THE 

UNKINDEST CUT OF ALL!

By

PG Kamath




09 Jul 2018

The Raksha Mantri (RM) in her own words had three

 meeting in April on 2nd, 17th and 26th.  In May, she had 

nine meetings on 4th, 9th, 15th,16th,17th,18th,19th, 22nd 

and 23rd.  Just look at her perseverance and her 

adherence to the Principle of War; Selection and 

Maintenance of Aim.  




You must all be thinking that she 

has gone on the war footing to improve the operational 

readiness of the Armed Forces to win the two and half

 front war under ‘Nuclear Biological and Chemical

 environment? Sadly, it was not to be! 

It was a well-planned a strategy with all the elements of

 deception, intrigue and subterfuge to achieve a victory

 of vested interests over the Indian Army.  

You should

 have seen the Victory Parade of her party goons, who

 mocked the sentries in Delhi Cantonment, when their

 leader, who also happens to be the ‘Raksha Mantri’ of

 our nation enabled it. Kudos to her sagacity; seldom

 you will find a Raksha Mantri, who can work so hard to

 compromise the security of families and children of the

 armed forces; including those, who are separated from

 their husbands and fathers, and deployed on the

 operational frontiers of the country. 

Why did she do it? 

She subjected the press to more than fifteen minutes of

 harangue trying to defend the indefensible.  One could

 see her nervousness while replying; trying her best to

 remain calm and composed belying her internal conflict;

 however, one could not fail to notice, that it was indeed 

a valiant but unsuccessful effort. 

The RM has been apparently professional in getting the

 roads opened in 62 cantonments; all need to take

 lessons as to how with single-minded devotion and

 resolve, the country’s security can be bartered to curry

 favour with local politicians; and, if that politician

 happens to be your spouse and pillow talks you into it: 

Then indeed; it has to be done with all the speed 

preferably under a veneer of pretentious

 professionalism, preceded by a charade of mock

 consultations.  Brilliantly adroit, stunningly clever with

 manipulative cunningness to back up one’s ulterior slick

 design under a façade of impassioned work ethos; the

 whole exercise was a mastery in deception with a

 mystery in intention, aimed to open the Cantt Roads in

 the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, that

 would facilitate schools run by local politicians.

  Incidentally ‘Pranav International School’, close to the

 Airforce Station is run by the spouse of RM.  He is the

 Chairman of the Parakala Seshavataram Memorial Trust,

 which runs the school.  The RM herself was also a

 Director in the Trust.  At one stroke, her spouse has

 become a darling of CM of Telangana and a host of

 brokers, landowners, realtors, businessmen,

 shopkeepers and school owners. All this, she could

 have done by just requesting the LMA to open a couple

 of roads in the twin cities.  The Chief would have

 willingly done it:  No, it should not appear so simple!

  Everyone should know that the RM means business and to cloak her vested interest in a garb of ‘Pan-India’ exercise involving 62 Cantonments was the central theme of the plot.  Trying her best to appear just and taking cudgels against the Indian Army; the final justice she delivers is to our enemies giving them ample soft targets in multiple cantonments, to perpetuate their terrorist activities.  

Now, let us look, who all have benefited from the move?

  First and foremost; it is a bonanza to the illegal

 encroachers as they have free access to their

 encroached settlements.  The next are those, who are

 staying illegally in huge Old Grant Bungalows and

 lapsed leased properties.  All, if not most of them are

 living illegally in collusion with the corrupt Defence

 Estate Officials with the backing of the Defence 

Ministry.  These illegal occupants would have free

 access to their illegally occupied properties

 perpetuating the unholy nexus.  The next beneficiary is

 the ‘Land Mafia’, who again in collusion with the

 Defence Estate Officials have raised the value of land

 within the Cantonments. All commercial establishments

 within the Cantonments would have additional footfalls

 and the rent and allied charges would increase steeply.

  Lastly, it is a windfall for the Director General of

 Defence Estates (DGDE) and all his officials, who would

 make money from all the above beneficiaries.  Next, it

 would also benefit all the lorries, buses, taxis,

 autorickshaws, tempos, and literally all and sundry to

 rush through the cantonment and despoil its sanctity

 and cleanliness.  It would also help private schools’

 buses to cut short the distance and make greater profits

 from the hapless parents.  One of the several

 beneficiaries is Pranav International School.    Look,

 how cleverly the plot has been hatched with detached

 attachment? Detached as others do not know; to whom

 the school belongs? Attached; as she knows that it

 belongs to her spouse and she was also a director in

 the Board of Trustees. 

Though I do not want to drag the spouse of the RM in the

 controversy, but the concatenation of circumstances

 shows, how he has benefited from the opening of the

 roads.  His parents were congress politicians of Andhra

 Pradesh and he was initially a congressman.  Later, he

 became the spokesperson of Andhra Pradesh unit of 

BJP.  Then he hopped on to Praja Rajyam Party and

 became its General Secretary and spokesman.  Due to

 its poor performance, the party was subsumed into

 Congress. In May 2014, Ms Sitharaman was appointed

 as Commerce Minister in BJP government.  In just over

 a month Mr Prabhakar was appointed as

 Communication Adviser with Cabinet rank to Andhra

 Pradesh Government.  These were the heydays when

 TDP and BJP were in bear hugging, back-slapping

 bonhomie and allies.  Mr Naidu was sweating to get

 Andhra Pradesh ‘Special Category’ status from the

 Union Government? What better way, than to appoint

 the party hopping Prabhakar and give him a status of 

Cabinet rank.  In mid-2017, there were strong rumours to

 make Prabhakar a MLC under the Governor’s quota and

 appoint him as a Cabinet Minister.  This could not be 

done as there were many party seniors, aspiring for the 

post.  Thus, the CM of Andhra Pradesh managed to have

 a mole in the union government in Ms Sitharaman, who

 would bat for him to get his state the much-sought

 Special Category status.  As it did not come about in the

 budget of 2018-19, the TDP split from NDA and the CM

 became the arch critic of the Union Government.  Now,

 Prabhakar was actually redundant to TDP.  He had

 piggybacked on the meteoric rise of his spouse and

 would have continued to progress, in case the Andhra

 Pradesh was given the ‘Special Category Status; alas! It

 was not to be. 

Isn’t it the right time to sow his political roots in

 Telangana? The CM of Telangana has been highly

 critical of the Defence Ministry for the restrictions, on

 the use of roads and is also eyeing defence lands in

 Secunderabad Cantt.  Most politicians run their schools

 near about the Cantt.  There is also a school run by a

 Missionary, who have always complained about the

 restrictions on the use of roads in the Cantt.  To put the

 matters straight; the Cantonments have existed for ages

 when there was no civil population around it.  The

 growth of the settlements around the Cantts ought to

 have been regulated by the State Governments, keeping

 the security perspective in mind.  Isn’t it a joke that the

 local government make colonies and settlements

 around by taking bribes and indulge in unplanned

 growth and then blame the Cantts for restricting the

 entry? However, the RM does not think so.  Her chief

 adviser is DGDE.  One has to just read any 

‘Performance and Audit Report on Defence Estate

 Management’ by CAG or Public Accounts Committee to

 gauge the credibility of the organisation.  As in my

 earlier writings, the RM takes the opinion of Vice

 Presidents and not of the Local Military Authorities, who

 are presidents of the Cantonment Boards.  Just see the

 TOI; Hyderabad Edition dated 8 Jun 2018; the Vice

 President of Cantt Boards warns the army authorities

 i.e. his President, to open the roads.  One needs to read

 a brilliant article entitled

‘MOD has Politicised Securityfor Electoral Reasons: Opening of Cantonment Roads Show That’ by Lt Gen Prakash Menon and Ram Ganesh,

https://theprint.in/opinion/mod-has-politicised-security-for-electoral-reasons-opening-of-cantonment-roads-shows-that/73513/

where they aver the responsibility of defence of

 Cantonments is of the MOD.  The responsibility to

 provide civic facilities to the populace is the

 responsibility of the Ministry of Housing and Urban

 Affairs at the union level and Municipal Corporations at

 the state level. In Secunderabad, it is the responsibility

 of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to look into

 the problems faced by the residents. Even the Andhra

 Pradesh High Court on 26 Sep 2014 ruled in favour of

 Local Military Authorities, their right to impose

 restrictions on Cantt roads to meet the ends of security.

  However, the RM forgets for what she is paid for, and

 assumes the responsibility of Mayor of GHMC and

 incurs ‘contempt of court’. 

The TOI Hyderabad Edition of 18 Jun 2018, further cites

 more than 2000 new housing units would come up in

 areas close the Cantonment in the next one and half

 years.  Thanks to the RM and the local hero for

 facilitating it; her spouse.  It is just a matter to time that

 he would be politically rehabilitated by the KCR

 government for yeoman’s service rendered to all

 beneficiaries in the twin cities.  The path is also clear as

 he has resigned from the TDP government.  All the

 realtors, land mafias, encroachers, illegal occupants of

 Old Grant Bungalows and leased properties owe their

 largesse to him.  I leave the rest to your imagination.

Dear Raksha Mantri! 

It is high time you come out clean to the Prime Minister

 on the ‘Great Game’ you played.  You are relying on

 amnesia of the public psyche to forget your perfidy.  

You are also relying on the press, who are incapable of

 pursuing an event after the initial outcry. Once the

 brouhaha has died down, you will continue to harvest 

the goodies for despoiling the sanctity and security of 62

 cantonments.  If any untoward incident happens in any

 of the Cantonments, like Lady Macbeth; you would be 

trying to wash off your blood-stained hands for the rest

 of your life