The Home Ministry has now made its stand tough towards the posting of videos by the personnel of security forces, whether they are from Army, BSF or CRPF.
Yes, you read it right! The ministry has imposed a strict restriction on the uploading of videos on social media platforms by soldiers without the consent of DG of their forces.
After the first video of the BSF soldier who complained about the food given to them, many soldiers from other forces too posted videos in which they talked about the problems that they are facing in their professional lives.
The DGs of seven central paramilitary forces have been sent the guidelines which also talk about the rule to ban the security personnel from making their opinion public on official matters.
In the words of Kiren Rijiju, Junior Home Minister,
“Our government is committed to addressing the problems faced by our soldiers. The guidelines have been issued to ensure there is no breach of discipline in the uniformed forces.”
Kiren further says that now many soldiers and officials have smartphones and they are active on social media.
It all started with a BSF soldier who posted a video on the social media, regarding the bad quality of food being served to them and then a CRPF constable posted a video in which he talked about the inequality in salary, pension, food and other facilities between army and paramilitary, despite their tough job.
An official from the ministry said,
“These two incidents acted as an eye opener. Sharing videos and pictures without permission will now invite action under the service rules.”
However, an official from the Intelligence Bureau has given a broader view on this ban; he says that as per a report, since November, the soldiers have been using their smartphones to click images of ongoing battles and operations and posting them on social media. In his words,
“It’s become a challenge for the government. The social media curbs will help foster the desired discipline.”
As per the guidelines, the DGs of the forces will give their nod on the release of images, videos, written matter or any other news on the social media, through their official handle or directly.
The soldiers are still free to post personal messages but not images on the social media. They have been asked to send their complaints to the respective grievance redress cells of their forces and it has been assured that their problems will be solved as soon as possible. The officers have also been asked to see that the jawans don’t face any problem in their daily routine.
What do you think of this restriction imposed by the government? Do let us know in the comments section below.
