NEW DELHI: Seeking to put an end to the controversy generated by his “misconstrued” remarks about women officers in the force, Army Vice-Chief Lt-General S. Pattabhiraman on Tuesday apologised if his statement, “as reported” in a section of the media, had hurt sentiments of the society at large.

“It’s unfortunate that during an interview on June 16, the remarks ascribed to me by a journalist in relation to the intake of lady officers in the Army has caused consternation and generated adverse publicity,” Lt-Gen Pattabhiraman said in a statement.

“Should my remarks, as reported in the press, have caused any anguish or doubt on my personal commitment and healthy respect towards the role of lady officers in Army, I have no hesitation in rendering an apology to such groups or sections of society or individuals,” he added.

Army had called a press conference to clarify that the vice-chief’s remarks about women officers not being preferred in the force had been quoted out of context since he had referred only to the combat arms.

But with political leaders like BJP’s Sushma Swaraj and NCW chief Girija Vyas attacking Army for being biased against women, defence minister Pranab Mukherjee pulled up the force, said sources. Though Army Chief General J.J. Singh explained to the minister that the remarks had been “misquoted”, Mukherjee expressed his extreme unhappiness at the incident.

Following this, the vice-chief issued the statement on Tuesday, which said women officers had contributed as much as their male counterparts towards upholding the Army’s work-culture and ethos.

“They have also excelled in fields such as adventure sports and shooting, apart from providing value-addition to Army’s work in fields such as education, IT, communication engineering, architecture, inventory management, intelligence and combat logistics,” he said.—By arrangement with The Times of India