In a major revelation, a former army commander claims that a military coup was planned to bring down Rajiv Gandhi’s government in 1987.
According to reports, an army coup was planning to execute an operation led by former Army chief General Krishnaswami Sundarji and then vice chief, Lt. General S F Rodrigues. The revelations were made in Lt General PN Hoon’s book, ‘The Untold Truth’.
It also claims that the coup was planned with few senior politicians support. The book narrates that after Hoon received the message about the coup, he immediately alerted Rajiv Gandhi and his secretary Gopi Arora.
"I also explained to them how dangerous this move could be, not only for the country, but also for our political system," Hoon told Times of India. The book also states that the then President Giani Zail Singh blamed Rajiv of corruption and that he lacked sympathy towards the anti-Sikh riot victims in 1984 during his farewell function. Zail Singh who is believed to be the mastermind behind the plan did not execute it because he believed that the power would shift to the armed forces.
Nevertheless, many army veterans disagreed to Hoon’s claim, where Air Marshal Randhir Singh said that there has never been a military coup in India.