After lending support to the anti-nuclear plant protest in Haryana, former Army chief General V K Singh on Friday threw his weight behind anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare and his team. V K Singh in his first public appearance in the national capital post retirement shared the dais with Hazare, who was once a soldier in the Indian Army.
In his eloquent speech, V K Singh exhorted the activists and their supporters to brace themselves up for a long and arduous fight. The former Army chief stated that Hazare and his Team would change the ‘political destiny’ of the country.
“In 1975, Jayaprakash Narayan said corruption was at the base of all problems. The statement is as relevant today as it was back then. Whenever you oppose bad governance, you are alleged to be wrong. You will also face the same. You, the people, have to be vigilant to prevent that from happening,” he said. “When you stand against problems like corruption they (the corrupt) try to malign you and bring you down so that you cannot give political alternative,” he said. There have been unconfirmed reports that the former Army chief will also soon join politics.
Taking on the politicians who have been taunting Team Anna that there was no magic wand to weed out corruption, the former Army chief said: “You have a magic wand. You need strong hands of people with strong character to hold it.”
He told the crowds that what was happening today in the name of policies was undemocratic and to prevent that there had to be a political alternative.
He further said: “In Army we learn two major things. One that we respect all religions and second that there is no difference between any caste and creed. This is what makes the Army successful. People will try to divide you in the name of caste, creed, etc. You should not fall prey to them. Think of yourself as an Army man and you will always get success.”