Dhumal goes to PM,Army disowns Shimla release

The Army blamed the release on a civilian public relations officer attached to the Western Command. Gen. V K Singh struck a conciliatory note,saying the situation would be “rectified”.

“I will talk to the chief minister. Ours and the chief minister’s relationship is very good,”

Gen. Singh told reporters. He said he had he had asked the Western Command about the release. “They (Western Command) have told us. They will rectify it and we have no problem with that.”

The 121-bigha Annandale ground,surrounded by thick forests and situated 4.5 km from Shimla’s ridge,has been under the Army’s control since World War II. The Himachal Cricket Association,which is headed by Dhumal’s son and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur,has begun a campaign to have it restored to the state. The release accused the state government of attempting to destroy a green patch and take over a strategically crucial open area,provoking Dhumal to retaliate that the Army was in “illegal occupation” of the ground.

Sources said the defence ministry asked the Western Command for an explanation on Monday morning. The Army reportedly told the ministry that there had been a mistake in the release,issued by a civilian PRO under the information & broadcasting ministry.

Preliminary investigations point to a lapse in the screening of the release,the issual of which was in itself a departure from norms. The release said national security was being ignored for “game and gimmicks”,but the really damaging part that included a direct reference to Dhumal was in a detailed attachment that was the PRO emailed.

The attachment,sources said,was an internal document prepared by the Army to define its position on the ground,and was never meant to be circulated.

The “derogatory reference” to Dhumal read,“Ironically,it was Prof P K Dhumal only who had launched the Revival of Deodar Afforestation Project for Shimla town in Aug 2009 by giving a clarion call to the people of the State,and specially Shimla town; to revive the faded glory of the capital town by actively participating in the afforestation drive. And now it is the same Prof Dhumal who is towing an entirely different line. Will better sense prevail ?”