Lalu condemns troop movement story, says roots of Indian democracy very strong

New Delhi, Apr 5 (ANI): Reacting to a media report that suggested that two units of the Indian Army had made an unexpected movement towards New Delhi, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday said the roots of Indian democracy are very strong, and added that India is not Pakistan.

Yadav said the conspiracy that has been going on at the moment is not in the interest of the country.

"Everybody has honour for the army. Our brave soldiers fight against the enemy. The army of the country is not the army of Pakistan. The conspiracy that has been going on is very dangerous for the country," said Yadav.

"Secondly, there are exercises of various troops, when they move out carrying weapons on their shoulders. This is not Pakistan, this is India. The roots of democracy are very strong here," he added.

According to the Indian Express report, two-army units moved towards New Delhi without notifying the government on January 16.

While the army described it as a routine fog-time exercise, an investigation by the newspaper reveals the incident took place hours after Chief of Army Staff General V.K. Singh had moved the Supreme Court on his age controversy.

The paper further cites central intelligence agencies as reporting an unexpected movement by a key military unit from the mechanised infantry based in Hisar, Haryana, on January 16.

Routine lookouts confirmed the movement of an entire unit of the Mechanised Infantry with Russian-made Armoured Fighting Vehicles carried on 48 tank transporters.

The report also said that a unit of the Agra-based 50 Para Brigade was also moved.

The Indian Express claims that Defence Minister A.K. Antony was informed of the movement and immediately put in motion an old contingency plan-by issuing a terror alert that entailed more police checking of vehicles and a slowing down of traffic. (ANI)