Army Says Bipin Rawat's Letter Attacking Air Force Is Fake

The Army has refuted a viral letter in the name of newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, who formerly was the chief of the Indian Army . While the starting of the letter is benign, where it extends new year's greeting to the army staff, the latter part of the letter states that the Indian Army defended India's borders in Nowshera better than the Air Force in February 2019, when tensions around Pulwama and Balakot flared. The letter further goes on to say that as CDS, he would run the Navy and Air Force along the lines of the Indian Army.

The letter is undated and carries the seal of the Chief of Army Staff and Rawat's signature, and can be viewed below.

BOOM received this letter on its helpline (7700906111).

Users on Twitter too have been calling out this letter as fake, and accusing Pakistani users of social media, and even the Pakistani Army, of propagating this letter.

The Army however took to Twitter to clarify that this letter is fake, cautioning users against falling for such news.

Rawat assumed the role of India's first CDS on January 1. The CDS will be the tri-service chief as a first among equals. He will be the single point of contact as a military advisor to the central government on matters concerning the armed forces, even though each of service chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force will still advice the government on matters exclusively concerning their service. The CDS will be the head of the new Department of Military Affairs and will be the permanent chairman of the Chief of Staff Commission. This move is expected to bring about greater synergy among the three services of the armed forces.