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| Politics
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| No shortage of tank ammunition, |
| No shortage of tank ammunition, says Antony, contradicts Army vice-chief
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| INDIA
, 10-April-2012
3:4:39 AM |
| Defence Minister A K Antony has said that reports of the Army being short of tank ammunition are just "rumours."
"These are all rumours. I can assure you that the country is fully prepared. India is in much more strong position as compared to the past. There will always be some shortcomings and that is also in the process. We can't expect 100 per cent requirements to be fulfilled and also that entire force is not on the front. They are all spread over," said Mr Antony.
The minister's statement appears to contradict the vice-chief of the Army, General SK Singh. He has told a committee of MPs in the event of a war, ammunition to take on enemy tanks, which is meant to last 40 days, would be exhausted in less than 20 days because of poor reserves.
The vice-chief shared this with the Standing Committee on Defence yesterday.
The committee has asked to meet with the three service chiefs on April 20 to explain their troops' preparedness. Last month, a letter from Army Chief General VK Singh to the Prime Minister was leaked. It highlighted the archaic arms and ammunition that the Army is forced to work with. General Singh had written in confidence to the PM to say that air defence was "97% obsolete" and the Army's tanks are "devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks."
The Opposition agreed that the leak of the Army Chief's letter was as worrying as its contents. The Intelligence Bureau has been assigned to identify the mole while the government has promised to explain what is being done to procure the equipment and ammunition needed for the defence forces. As a starting point, Defence Minister AK Antony has said more financial powers will be transferred to the Army.
The standing committee on defence, which is headed by Congress MP Satpal Maharaj, will meet the heads of the Army, Navy and Airforce a day after the combined commanders conference, where the country's overall defence strategy will be analysed.
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