File image of BSF jawans (GETTY IMAGES)
New Delhi: Months after Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav raised a storm by taking to social media to air his complaints about sub-standard food, the Union Home Ministry has launched a mobile app to help jawans raise grievances directly with the MHA.
Launching the app Home Minister Rajnath Singh said this digital platform will bring him closer to the jawans. “Now, I am just a click away,” he said.
Rajnath Singh said that the idea for such an app came to him at the DGP conference in Hyderabad last year and was shared with the DGs of paramilitary forces.
“The paramilitary jawans are very disciplined. They never voice their concerns out of turn but I realised they need a platform to air their grievances. Their working conditions are very difficult like in Chhatisgarh they live under tin shed and yet take part in operations with full vigour,” Singh said.
Emphasising on the discipline of jawans, the minister spoke about the CRPF man who was heckled during the Srinagar bypolls and the video went viral.
“I was asked repeatedly how the jawan didn’t retailiate in the face of provocation. I can tell people that this shows the dedication and discipline. His mission was to take electronic voting machines (EVMs) to safety and any reaction would have jeopardised his mission. So, the discipline and restraint,” Singh said.
The Home Minister conceded that internet is not available in most areas that paramilitary forces are deployed and therefore the mobile app may be of little use.
“It is true that in certain areas mobile connectivity is zero but whenever the jawan goes on leave or comes to a network area he can use the app,” he said.
Due to security reasons the app will not be available in Google Play Store and can only be downloaded from the MHA website. A BSF officer said that since the server of Google is outside India it would have lead to security concerns.
The BSF also launched its own app to help jawans raise their issues swiftly. The Home Minister assured that he would personally review the dashboard every month to check the rate of grievance redressal.