Punjab CM welcomes EC advisory on ‘shameful’ use of defence personnel pics in poll campaigns

Chandigarh, (Punjab), [India], March 10 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday welcomed the Election Commission directive against the use of pictures relating to defence personnel for election propaganda or campaigning while calling for an end to the politicisation of the armed forces for political gains.
“Earning brownie points through the politicisation of forces was as wrong as using photographs of defence personnel to take political mileage,” the Chief Minister said in a statement issued here.
 “It was good that the EC had taken note of the shameful practice of using such photographs for electoral gains, especially in the wake of the recent IAF air strike across the Line of Control (LoC),” he said urging political parties to desist from any attempt to politicise the forces.
A former Army man himself, Captain Amarinder Singh emphasised that "the armed forces are above all petty considerations such as caste, religion or political affiliations and need to be kept so if India is to remain an independent sovereign power."
“Any political interference in the functioning of the forces would be highly detrimental to the security and the larger interest of the nation and its people,” he said.
The Chief Minister warned against the “political control of the armed forces” which he asserted that "some nations have done that at their own peril".
“Political control of the armed forces could have devastating effects on a country and its future, as much as interference by the forces could have on its polity,” the Chief Minister said.
“The armed forces are a vital institution of our country and any erosion in their authority could be dangerous to the safety and security of our people,” he said.
The EC had on Saturday issued an advisory to all national and state political parties of the country, asking them to ‘refrain from the display of photographs of defence personnel or photographs of functions involving defence personnel in advertisements, or otherwise as part of their election campaigning'.
The move came in the wake of opposition parties accusing BJP of milking the air strike against terror camps for its political gains. (ANI)