‘Our army will never stage a coup’ PM Modi slams ‘planted’ stories

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday slammed the previous UPA regime over alleged planting of false stories that the army under the then chief V K Singh had planned a coup in 2011-12. Modi, who was addressing a public rally in Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur, said every Indian knows that an army coup would never happen in the country.

“Few days ago, the nation showed its utter disgust at a story of how a top UPA Minister kept pushing a narrative that our army will do a coup. Every Indian knows that our army can do no such thing, but look at the Congress attitude,” Modi said.

Earlier, Former Indian Army chief and Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh on Thursday said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an investigation into a false story about an “attempted military coup” that had been allegedly planted in the media in 2012, PTI reported. At the time, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was in power at the Centre.

“The Indian Army loves the country and can never go against it,” Singh, who headed the Army in 2012, told reporters. He added that he has sought a high-level investigation to expose the people “who have committed treason” against the country.

The Prime Minister said the NDA government “is a government for each and every Indian. We are leaving no stone unturned for future-proofing India.”

Modi also mentioned about the government fulfilling the four decades old demand for One Rank One Pension, and said “Congress also leaves no opportunity to belittle our Army.”

Earlier this week, Bharatiya Janata Party leader GVL Narasimha Rao said the coup story was not just a political conspiracy but also an attempt to defame the Army.