Former Air Force chief NC Suri told India Today that he had not signed any such letter. In fact, Air Marshall Suri has written another letter to the President's office clarifying his stance. General SF Rodrigues said he had no idea about the letter and called it fake

Suri told India Today that he had not signed any such letter. In fact, Air Marshall Suri has written another letter to the President's office clarifying his stance. General SF Rodrigues said he had no idea about the letter and called it fake.

"Don't know what it (letter) is all about. All my life, we have been apolitical. After 42 years as an officer, it's a little late to change. Always put India first. Don't know who these people are, but this is a classic manifestation of fake news," said General SF Rodrigues (Retd).

The controversial letter which was made public on Thursday urged Kovind to "take all necessary steps to urgently direct all political parties that they must forthwith desist from using the military, military uniforms or symbols, and any actions by military formations or personnel, for political purposes or to further their political agendas".

It was signed by 156 retired servicemen including three former Army chiefs, four former Navy Chiefs and a former Air Force Chief.

The army veterans in the letter complained to the President about the manner in which the political leaders were taking credit for military operations like cross-border strikes, and even going so far as to claim the Armed Forces to be "Modi ji ki Sena".

The mention was a reference to the controversy over a recent comment by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath describing the Indian Army as "Modi ji ki sena" (Narendra Modi's army) at an election rally in Ghaziabad which was reiterated by Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as well as several other members of the ruling BJP while taking credit for the Balakot air strike.

The letter expressed retired personnel's unease over the way the pictures and images of Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and soldiers, in general, were used by the political parties in their election hoardings and campaigns to reap gimmicky electoral benefits.

The veterans also expressed fear that "with the General elections around the corner, and given the prevailing environment where political parties and candidates seem to be acting in total disregard of the declaration of the 'model code of conduct', we fear that such incidents may only increase as polling day draws near," and would "impinge adversely on the morale and fighting efficiency of the serving man or woman in uniform. It could therefore directly affect national security and national integrity."

Meanwhile, Congress slammed the Government over the letter accusing it of using the soldiers for votes. The party in its tweet said, "Modi may try to use soldiers for votes, but it's clear that soldiers stand with India and not the BJP. 156 Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces including 8 former Chiefs of Staff write to the President of India urging him to act against Modi for trying to use soldiers for votes."

The signatories to the letter include eight former service chiefs - former chiefs of Army Staff of the Indian Army- General Deepak Kapoor, former Navy chiefs- Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, Admiral Arun Prakash, Admiral Suresh Mehta and former Chief of the Air Staff- Air Chief Marshal NC Suri.