Time to review basis of promotions in services,says Vohra

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra said on Friday that the time has come for the government to review the basis of appointment and promotion to higher echelons in the three services. In view of recent controversies in armed forces,Vohra said such incidents must not let down the morale of the services. Vohra was delivering a lecture on civil-military relation,its challenges and opportunities in New Delhi. He emphasised the need for a better cohesion between civil,military interface.

Elaborating on the civil-military relations,Vohra,who had served as the defence secretary said while political masters come and go,civil servants are more accountable to the government functioning. He said that it would be wrong to suggest that there is an imbalance between civil and military arms of the government. Vohra also suggested that the government needs to introduce curriculum in defence colleges,imparting knowledge about the Constitution to understand the functioning of such a large country like India.

Speaking on the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act AFSPA,Vohra said,8230;AFSPA is applied to disturbed areas for sustained operations for combating terrorism and insurgency8230;. The armed forces need to ensure the people that civil rights are protected but at the same time both the Centre and state governments seeking the help of armed forces need to ensure that the legal rights of the armed forces are protected8230;.

Vohra also suggested that the government should immediately implement the recommendations of the task force set up after the Kargil War.

On a question regarding the existence of parliamentary standing committee on defence,Vohra said, We need to constantly establish a critical dialogue mechanism.