Mumbai: Trouble is brewing within the Maharashtra unit of Bharatiya Janata Party with Dhule MLA accusing the Union Minister of State for Defence of not doing enough for the area which is also his parliamentary constituency.
BJP MLA Anil Gote made the accusation in a letter to MoS Defence Subash Bhamre.
He also raised questions about Bhamre’s tenure in the Defence Ministry, saying,” All you have done during your tenure of four years and as MoS Defence is you have brought back the fugitive soldier Chandu.”
The soldier in question is Chandu Chavan who inadvertently crossed over to the other side of the Line of Control on September 29, 2016, around the same time when the Indian Army conducted surgical strikes. He was made prisoner by Pakistan before being released back to India in January 21, 2017, as a goodwill gesture.
An inquiry was initiated by the Army against him. The Army ruled that Chavan had ‘deserted’ from his post and took disciplinary action against him.
Chavan, who hails from Dhule, is posted with the 81st Armoured Regiment. Currently at home on leave, he told News18, “The army would have never accepted me if I was a fugitive. This is demoralising to me, he has insulted the Army. He is an MLA, we don’t expect this from him.”
Accusing Gote for insulting him and the Army, he said, “What use is he of, if he insults the soldiers? He should be suspended.”
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