After a series of videos were posted online by jawans from the army, Indian Air Force and central police forces concerning various conditions that they work under and which became viral with attracting huge criticism from celebrities as well as commoners, the army has set up a WhatsApp number for its soldiers to post their issues directly to the army chief Gen Bipin Rawat.
The WhatsApp number to register complaints is +91-9643300008.
As per the officials, there is already an existing system to address such grievances within the army which is apt and quick. “But in case a soldier has exhausted all grievance redressal forums and is still not happy, he may contact the army chief’s office through the new number,” said an official.
However, many in the army are not happy about this move. They say it will be impossible to exclude any unnecessary messages that can come on WhatsApp.
As it is a common WhatsApp number, it will not be just the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army officials who can send messages to the number but also anyone in the world. Besides, there will be no check on what kind of text, video or link will be sent to the number.
