NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed top military commanders of three Services in presence of defence minister Manohar Parrikar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Discussions ranging from prevailing security scenario on border to appointment of Chief of Defence Staff, the top most militaryman of the country, were in the agenda of the Combined Commanders Conference, which was held in the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.
But due to Election Commission’s directives on holding conference in the poll bound Uttarakhand state, outcome of the meeting remained confined within the four walls, as neither the Prime Minister’s office not ministry of defence came out with any statement on the annual meet, which is attended top army commanders and their equivalent rank officers from navy and air force.
The Election Commission directive came after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat had questioned the timing of the conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance in view of the assembly polls in the state. Rawat had demanded that the Conference be deferred.
Giving the go-ahead to the Conference, the Election Commission, however, laid down conditions that the defence ministry will have to ensure that the “official visit shall not be combined with any public meeting” and is not used as a platform to make any “announcement” that may “affect” the electoral process.
Incidentally, the Prime Minister’s address is a closed door event where the three Services chiefs brief him about the security scenario, emerging threats and challenges, operational preparedness and related issues.
The three Chiefs including Admiral Satish Lanba, IAF Chief B S Dhanoa and Army Chief General Bipin Rawat apprised the political leadership about the strategic environment in India’s neighbourhood.
Military sources claimed that emerging challenge like cyber warfare also came up for discussion apart from issues like modernization of the armed forces in tune with fast changing warfare fighting strategies all over the world were also discussed.
After taking over as the Prime Minister, Modi had asked the Services to hold the Conference in an operational environment and the first meet was held on board aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya in 2015. The Combined Conference did not take place last year due to the Prime Minister’s hectic schedule. It was decided to hold the event at IMA this year