A former lieutenant general of the Indian army has claimed that a military coup was plotted to topple Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government by the then army chief and his deputy in 1987.
The sensational assertion was made by Lt Gen PN Hoon, a former commander of the prestigious Western Command of the Indian army, in his just-released book, “The Untold Truth,” reported The Times of India.
Hoon, 86, claimed that three crack para-commando battalions including one from the Western Command, were told to move for action in Delhi by the top brass of the military. In 1987, General Krishnaswami Sundarji was the Indian army chief and Lt Gen SF Rodrigues served as his deputy.
Hoon also hinted that the plan for a coup was hatched at the behest of certain very senior politicians who did not share cordial relations with Rajiv, the grandson of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. According to Hoon, those politicians believed that Gandhi was a part of rampant corruption going through across the country and unconcerned about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, of which his mother, the prime minister of India at the time, had been accused for instigation.
Hoon, who retired in October 1987, has claimed that as chief of the Western Command in May-June 1987, he was in Delhi on official work when he received a message that a letter had been received at command headquarters from army headquarters seeking three para-commando battalions. The battalions included the First-Para Commando, which was under the Western Command, and the 9th and 10th Para Commando which were under the Northern and Southern Commands.
According to Hoon, these three battalions were ordered to be placed under Rodrigues. He said he immediately briefed Rajiv and his principal secretary Gopi Arora about the development and showed them the letter demanding special forces.
“I also explained to them how dangerous this move could be, not only for the country, but also for our political system,” the TOI quoted Hoon’s book. He claims to have ordered the Delhi area commander, which is under the Western Command, not to move any troops without his permission.
Hoon stated that one minister in Rajiv’s cabinet, VC Shukla, was aware about the possibility of army action. In chapter-10 titled ‘Giani Zail Singh vs Rajiv Gandhi’ he said Shukla specially came down to Chandimandir to meet him.
Air Marshal Randhir Singh, a veteran of many wars and a high up of the Indian defence force at the time, disagrees with Hoon and says there’s never been any attempt at military coup. “In India, a coup by the armed forces is not possible because of the kind of legacy training they have inherited,” the 94-year-old said told the TOI.
Terming it Gen Hoon’s “own perception,” TOI quoted Col KS Pathak, senior veteran and one of the founders of country’s special forces, as saying: “There may have been mobilisation of troops in Delhi but it was for other reasons. At the time, there was unrest in Delhi, especially after the Sikh massacre and some other problems.”
