Common Okay S Thimayya, the previous Chief of Military Workers, was within the information lately when his identify figured within the election marketing campaign in Karnataka and it was alleged that he had acquired a uncooked deal from the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The recent debate deserves a re-visit to the controversy surrounding his resignation and the response of Nehru within the Lok Sabha to it in addition to the controversy over promotions within the Indian Military.
It was on September 1, 1959, that the difficulty of the resignation of Gen Thimayya resonated within the Lok Sabha. Congress chief J B Kripalani moved an Adjournment Movement on “the intense state of affairs arising out of the reported resignation of the Chief of the Military Workers to be adopted by the resignations of the opposite service chiefs”.
Lok Sabha archives present the prime minister was not obtainable to make an announcement within the Home that day as he was receiving Pakistan president Gen Ayub Khan on the Palam airport, and the matter was deferred to the following day amidst heated debates.
The subsequent day Nehru spoke within the Lok Sabha in regards to the Adjournment Movement and knowledgeable the Home that Gen Thimayya had met him per week in the past and mentioned a number of points. Nehru raised the difficulty of discontent within the Military over some current promotions and mentioned he had been given a passable reply by the Military chief. The prime minister informed the Lok Sabha that there had been no favouritism or partisanship within the promotions. “… I say this as a result of I discover that some reference was made yesterday within the Home to political issues influencing promotions I believe that there isn’t a reality in that cost,” mentioned Nehru.
He added he was shocked a couple of days later to discover a letter of resignation from Thimayya and that he prevailed upon the Military Chief to withdraw his resignation and which he did. Nehru went on to name the variations of Gen Thimayya with the then defence minister V Okay Krishna Menon “temperamental” and went on to heap reward on Menon.
Nehru mentioned, “I believe Common Thimayya is a really gallant and skilled officer who has accomplished superb service to this nation. However I don’t congratulate him for his letter of resignation. That’s completely clear”.
At this then Opposition chief N G Ranga mentioned, “You will have congratulated the fallacious man then. Why have you ever requested him to withdraw his resignation?” Atal Bihari Vajpayee additionally interjected at this stage and mentioned, “Ask Common Thimayya to resign, that’s all”.
At this level, Nehru mentioned he didn’t know why some Opposition members had been enthusiastic about this matter. “I mentioned, and I repeat, that Common Thimayya and our senior gives, particularly Chiefs of Workers, are individuals who have accomplished good service, whose expertise, whose gallantry now we have appreciated, and we respect. And that’s the reason now we have obtained them there. In any other case, we gained’t have them there. It’s as a result of we respect their providers that now we have put them there. That’s the reason I went out of my technique to get him to withdraw that letter. However that has nothing to do with my comment that I don’t congratulate him, or anyone, for sending a letter of resignation. Let that be fairly clear. It’s and it was a most extraordinary factor to do. I’ve mentioned solely mildly what I’ve mentioned,” mentioned Nehru.
In his speech, Nehru additionally talked in regards to the controversy over the Military promotions to the rank of Lieutenant Common the place three officers had been accredited from the following rank however certainly one of them had not commanded an Infantry Division although he was “totally certified”. “However there was one issue and that was that he had not truly commanded an Infantry Division This, in fact, was not his fault; he had had no probability. There was an extra issue: that the truth that he had not commanded an Infantry Division could come up later, in case the query of additional promotion arose,” mentioned Nehru.
Nehru mentioned the Military Chief favoured this one that was first on the checklist of three names although he had advisable Nos. 2 and three additionally as match for promotion as Lt Generals. “The defence minister thought that it could be higher to advertise No 2 and three as Lt Generals now and to present instantly an opportunity to No 1 to command an Infantry Division in order that he might need that have and additional that as quickly as a emptiness occurred he needs to be appointed Lt Common and given the requisite seniority from now. Thus, he wouldn’t lose his seniority by this delay in appointing him as Lt Common,” defined Nehru.