Row between Himachal, army escalates over land

The row between Himachal Pradesh government and military over ownership of Annandale ground on Sunday escalated, with the army saying national security cannot be ignored for "game and gimmicks".

Chief Minister P K Dhumal threatened to file a defamatory suit against the Army if it did not tender an unconditional apology for allegedly maligning his image. The state government has demanded that the historic ground be handed over to it for building a multi-sports stadium.

The 121-bigha ground, surrounded by thick forests, has been under the army's control since World War II and has now become a bone of contention between the state government and the army amid an intensified campaign launched by the Himachal Pradesh Cricket association headed by Anurag Thakur, Member of Parliament and son of Dhumal, to restore it to the state authorities.

Adopting a tough posture, the army rejected the demand with a hard hitting statement.

"Annandale ground is of paramount strategic significance for the Indian Army from national security perspective which can never be ignored in favour of any game and gimmicks being played at the cost of larger national interest, national security, army training and disaster management purposes which are not negotiable at any cost," it said.

Reacting sharply to the army's statement, the chief minister said, "Factually, Annandale ground belongs to Himachal and is under unlawful occupation of the army".

Dhumal alleged that the statement is false, baseless, misleading, defamatory and aimed at maligning the clean image of the state government in general and the chief minister in particular".

He sought immediate unconditional apology by the authorities responsible for issuing the statement, failing which, he said, he would file a defamation suit and initiate appropriate legal action.

The historic ground from where the Durand cup started was a major centre of activities during British rule. It was leased to the army during World War II to be used as a training camp and the lease expired some thirty years ago. The state has been pressing for the return of the land.