After a BSF Jawan raises question over the food quality served to the soldiers, Home Minister Rajnath Singh ordered an inquiry into the matter while BSF said he is alcoholic and offender. Following the video went viral; the soldier has also been shifted from the Line of Control to the headquarters of his 29 battalion in Poonch.
“This is breakfast – one burnt parantha and a glass of tea…no butter, no jam, no pickle…” says a soldier in Facebook videos that have gone viral. “Can a jawan do his duty with this kind of food? Share this video as much as possible and take our message to the government. Jai Hind!” BSF soldier Tej Bahadur Yadav said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh ordered an inquiry into the soldier’s three videos alleging poor food and near starvation condition.
In one of the videos, Tej Bahadur Yadav records dinner being cooked in dim light. “Dal with only haldi (turmeric) and salt. No onion, no garlic, no seasoning…not even cumin,” the soldier complains. He also scolds his comrades for cooking in dark.
“This is the quality of the food we get… we are on duty for 11 hours in the snow and at times we have to stand throughout… how can a jawan do his duty?” he asks in another video.
The 40-year-old also complains that jawans go to bed on an empty stomach. “The government’s store is full but everything is sold. I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an investigation,” says the soldier.
Bahadur also said that anything can happen to him after he will post the videos. The BSF and the home ministry have both ordered probe into the matter. Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home, also said “any anomaly will be dealt with firmly.”
The BSF says the soldier was court-martialed 4-years ago for assaulting a superior but not sacked from service “on compassionate grounds”.
