Defence minister says missiles will be used whenever necessary

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Refuting Pakistan's charge that India had kept its missiles in readiness against them, Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said in Lucknow on June 18 that the "missiles would be used whenever necessary".

Addressing a press conference, he said, "After all, if missiles have been made, they are meant for the nation's defence. But let me make it clear that, at present, these are not positioned against any other country." He objected to opposition leader and BJP stalwart Atal Behari Vajpayee's recent talks with the American envoy in this regard.

Yadav blamed the previous government for not paying the desired attention India's defence preparedness. "It is unfortunate," he said, "that we could not keep pace with global modernisation over the last 10 years. I do not wish to spell out the reasons for this lapse, which might have even been on account of financial constraints, but I can assure you that I will not allow it to happen when I am on this chair."

Expressing concern over the apparent loss of morale in the defence services as a whole, the defence minister said, "I will do everything to ensure that the morale of the defence personnel always remains high." Replying to another question, he admitted that the defence services had become less attractive, resulting in fewer people taking it up as a profession. "Perhaps the defence services do not enjoy the same respect and prestige in society as they did earlier. I'll see to it that the service conditions are made more attractive."

Asked about the objections of the three defence chiefs to the recommendations of the pay commission, which allegedly left much disparity with equivalent civil cadres, Yadav said, "These were not objections but more in the nature of suggestions. Since I agreed with them, I personally took the three chiefs to the then prime minister H D Deve Gowda to apprise him of their feelings. I am sure the issue raised by them will get resolved during the course of implementation of the pay commission's report."

He hoped that much of the misgivings at various levels in the defence services would be resolved with the implementation of the revised recommendations of the pay commission, "Of the total defence budget of Rs 356.2 billion, a sum of Rs 36.2 billion has been specially allocated to meet the requirements of the Fifth Pay Commission."

Listing his achievements during his tenure as defence minister, Yadav said, "The modernisation of the armed forces has been taken up on a priority basis. The government signed the SU-30 aircraft deal with Russia, which is the first major acquisition by the Indian Air Force in the past 10 years," he said, adding that production of the battle tank Arjun, and the upgradation of the T-72 tank and MIG-21 aircraft were also done during his tenure.

He wound up by emphasising that the "highest priority" was the "welfare of armed forces personnel for which a number of steps have been taken."