The Indian Army said a viral video of a press conference at the Press Club of India was fabricated to malign its image.
The incident highlights the tension between political campaigning and military neutrality, as the video featured soldiers appearing alongside members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
In a statement posted on Friday, May 22, the Army described the clip as a malicious propaganda campaign. A spokesperson for the Indian Army said, "The video is fake and misleading and is an attempt to malign the image of the Indian Army" [1].
Officials identified three individuals in the video: Chandu Chavan, Harendra Yadav, and P Narender [1]. The military said that these individuals do not represent the current standards of the force. A spokesperson said, "The individuals seen in the video have been dismissed from service on grounds of indiscipline and unsoldierly conduct" [1].
Other reports noted that some of the individuals seen in the footage were already fired for misconduct or are currently facing disciplinary action [2, 3]. The video had been circulating across various social-media platforms and news outlets before the official rebuttal.
The Army said that the footage was part of a coordinated effort to damage the reputation of the armed forces [1, 2]. The press conference took place in New Delhi at the Press Club of India [3].
Military authorities have not specified if further legal action will be taken against the political parties involved in the press conference [1, 3].
“"The video is fake and misleading and is an attempt to malign the image of the Indian Army."”
This confrontation underscores the strict non-partisan mandate of the Indian military. By quickly labeling the footage as fabricated and clarifying that the personnel involved were either dismissed or facing discipline, the Army is attempting to decouple its institutional identity from the political agendas of the AAP and RJD to prevent perceptions of military politicization.
