Army chief defends Modi’s ‘radar’ remark, says ‘some radars’ cannot see through clouds 

Defending Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that clouds can help planes elude radar, Army chief General Bipin Rawat has said that some types of radar cannot see through clouds because of the manner in which it operates.

"There are various kinds of radars working with different technologies. Some have the capacity to see through, some don't have the capacity to see through (clouds)," Rawat said while interacting with the media in Ezhimala on Saturday.

"Some kinds of radar cannot see through clouds because of the manner in which it is operating. Sometimes we can, sometimes we can't," Rawat added.

In a television interview aired recently, Modi had said he used his "raw wisdom" to dispel doubts of defence experts, who wanted the Balakot air strike on February 26 to be deferred due to bad weather.

"The weather was not good on the day of air strike. There was a thought that crept in the minds of the experts that the day of strike should be changed.

"However, I suggested that the clouds could actually help our planes escape the radars," Modi had said while talking about the cross-border strike on terror camps in response to the Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.

The prime minister's comment drew widespread ridicule and condemnation from various quarters, including a large number of memes on the social media.

General Rawat, who was in Ezhimala to review the passing-out parade of cadets of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard, said that coordinated efforts are being made by various government agencies to tackle cross-border terrorism, he said.

"Through the coordinated efforts of various government agencies, now the NIA has stepped in, the Enforcement Directorate has stepped in and all are trying to ensure financing and funds available to terrorists are cut off," he said.

"We have been able to ensure that the insurgency has been brought under control. Of course in the Kashmir Valley, we have been witnessing ups and downs of insurgencies.

“That's because they got support from our western neighbour. At the same time many (people) are misguided due to a misinformation campaign spread by terrorists. But we have brought the situation under control," he said.

Indian Naval Academy (INA) Commandant Vice Admiral R B Pandit and Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Anurag Kumar, were in attendance at the parade.

The parade also saw 15 female cadets marching shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts to join the ranks of the Indian Navy, a release issued by the Academy said.There were 10 trainees from various friendly nations, including two each from Maldives, Myanmar and Seychelles, one from Tanzania and three from Sri Lanka.