A retired army man has threatened the Tamil Nadu government saying that it should not mess with the army and not force them into using bombs and guns.
The remarks made by a retired army man identified as Col. B Pandian, came during a protest organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protest in Chennai on Tuesday, February 21.
The BJP was protesting against the killing of an army jawan named Prabhu (28) in Krishnagiri by a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) councillor and his son. The jawan had been killed over an argument on the use of water.
‘The Indian army is one of the largest and most disciplined armies in the world. If the government messes with such an army, it is not good for the Tamil Nadu government or the state’, Pandian said.
‘I am saying this with love. All our retired servicemen in this protest are experts in placing bombs, shooting and fighting. We know all of these jobs well but we do not intend on doing them. I am warning the Tamil Nadu government to not make us do these jobs’, he said.
Likening the DMK to a terrorist group, he called for capital punishment for the people who killed Prabhu and added that if the government tests the patience of army servicemen, the law-and-order situation in the state would deteriorate.
Pandian got into an altercation with the media when he was questioned about his comments as to whether it was a threat to the state government. He said that his comments were a warning and not a threat.
However, later he said that if such behaviour continues, they will do what they said they would. When the media persons kept questioning his earlier statements, Pandian said that his comments were indeed a threat to the Tamil Nadu government.