Gen Naravane's memoir: Rules bar retired officers from publishing classified info

NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's insistence connected speechmaking purported extracts from the yet-to-be published publication of erstwhile Army General Manoj Mukund Naravane has shone the spotlight connected the rules and regulations that restrict elder subject officials from revealing classified accusation oregon important enactment decisions adjacent aft retirement.Senior subject officials, peculiarly those dealing with classified information, are taxable to regulations nether the Official Secrets Act that restrict the work of books oregon accusation adjacent aft status to forestall specified classified worldly from becoming public.While a wide one-year “cooling-off” play exists for taking up commercialized oregon backstage employment, regulations for publishing concealed contented necessitate anterior govt clearance."Four Stars of Destiny", a memoir of Naravane, who was Army main from Dec 31, 2019, to April 30, 2022, remains unpublished owed to pending clearance from the defence ministry regarding delicate details connected the 2020 LAC standoff and Agnipath scheme.The publication was slated to deed the stands successful Jan 2024, but the Army and the defence ministry asked the steadfast not to spell up until they had reviewed its contents.There has been nary authoritative connection from the publisher, author, oregon adjacent the ministry connected the presumption of the book.

If the said rules and regulations are violated, govt tin instrumentality ineligible enactment and specified violations tin besides pb to the withholding of portion oregon each of the pension of the subject authoritative concerned, arsenic per CCS (Pension) Rules. There are chances that if the memoir is published, it could “flare up” the LAC concern with China.In May-June 2020, Indian and Chinese troops engaged successful convulsive face-offs on the LAC successful eastbound Ladakh and Sikkim, astir notably during the June 15, 2020, clash successful Galwan Valley that resulted successful the decease of 20 Indian soldiers.

There were casualties connected the Chinese broadside arsenic well. This marked the deadliest confrontation successful decades, starring to large unit escalations.Under the past General Naravane’s command, India and China held a bid of ground-level talks that led to “disengagement” successful a phased mode from the stand-off areas. As of today, the concern on LAC is characterised by a “thaw” pursuing a bid of disengagement agreements, yet high-level subject guardant deployment from some sides persists.