Trust deficit with army, PM must clear air: BJP

New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must tell the nation what exactly happened, referring to a media report that suspicious movement towards Delhi by two key army units in January had created unease in the government.

BJP leader Balbir Punj said there is a trust deficit between the government and the Indian Army. He was reacting to the Indian Express report of the movement by two army units without notifying the government on the night of Jan 16.

'This underlines the ugly reality of the present government that it is suffering from a trust deficit. Earlier they had a problem with the opposition and they lost the trust of the opposition ... then it lost the trust of its own coalition partners and now you have a situation where the cabinet ministers don't trust each other,' Punj told reporters here.

'Latest is that there is huge trust deficit between Indian Army and government and it is a very unprecedented situation. Defence Minister A.K. Antony must quit immediately because of his sheer inefficiency and inaction or the prime minister must sack him as nothing else can redeem the situation,' he said.

He demanded that prime minister should clarify the matter.

'Prime minister is always on silent mode. At least on this occasion he must open his mouth and take the nation into confidence and tell as to what exactly happened on Jan 16 and why there is so much trust deficit between the army and the government,' he added.