The government believes that dismissed Border Security Force (BSF) constable Tej Bahadur Yadav's viral video questioning the quality of food being served to security personnel could have caused a mutiny among the armed forces.
In an ongoing case against the dismissal of Yadav from the BSF after he posted that video, the centre and BSF, in a written reply, told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that Yadav's complaint was a made-up story and the video posted by him intended to malign the image of the force. It added that Yadav's dismissal was just a minor punishment for the offences he has done.
The Centre told the court that the BSF did not apply an additional tadka in the daal to make it extra spicy and oily owing to an increase in cases relating to cardiac problems among the troops. It added that the daal appeared watery since it had been cooked in a pressure cooker.
Yadav, whose video was widely shared on social media, had sought the court's help against his dismissal from the BSF. His counsel SP Yadav has sought time to respond to the government and the case will be heard on February 27, 2019.
In his video, the former constable had complained that the jawans were only given paratha and tea for breakfast and had also complained about the quality of daal served in dinner.
"...In BSF mess, food is being prepared for a number of persons and it is not practically possible to cook the food as per the choice and taste of each and everyone. Moreover, the health of troops is also paramount consideration in the force as cardiac arrest problem has risen in the troops in recent times," the government mentioned in its reply.
The government also added that Yadav's complaint had instigated other officials to blame and defame the BSF. It also said that some of the fundamental rights of forces personnel have been curtailed by the Constitution and Section 13 of the BSF Act imposes restrictions on the freedom of expression of force personnel.
The government also said that a probe done by NIA into the Facebook account of Yadav had found that he has many friends from foreign countries including 18-21 with connections to Pakistan.
Yadav had in January 2017 posted three videos with shots of runny dal and dried chappatis with him adding that there are times when a soldier goes to sleep empty stomach.
