. No compromise on country’s Defence preparedness and integrity:

Antony  Army Chief Gen V K Singh's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the state of affairs in the service rocked the Rajya Sabha with opposition members forcing two adjournments during the Question Hour.  Defence Minister A K Antony then said, "Regarding the letter of the Army Chief to the Prime Minister, which he (Army Chief) said is a top secret letter, I am aware of the letter. It should not have come out, government will respond to it appropriately."  Even as the Defence Minister A K Antony told Rajya Sabha that government will take appropriate action in the matter, members demanded action against the person who leaked the Army Chief letter to the Prime Minister.  Accepting that there are gaps in the capability of the armed forces, the Defence Ministry has said that it will take cognizance of the concerns expressed by Army Chief General V K Singh and will address those issues.  Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said the acquisition policy is also being changed to ensure faster procurement of the needs expressed by the forces.  "Definitely gaps are there and government is serious in addressing them as quickly as possible. We are fine tuning the acquisition process to speed up the process and government has been very responsive to the needs of the armed forces," Raju said.  To a question on acquisition of defence equipments and systems, he said, "There are gaps in the capability and we are trying to bridge them by speeding up the acquisition process and by making it transparent, because in the past it has resulted in the cancellation of tenders."  The government has banned four foreign and two Indian companies by blacklisting them from trading in India for next ten years due to their involvement in corruption.  In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, the Defence Minister A K Antony said that the blacklisted firms were found to have indulged in illegal gratification for securing contracts or trying to secure contracts.  Assuring members, Antony said, "Government is committed to do all that is necessary for the security of the nation. Government will do everything possible to ensure that our defence forces become the best fighting forces in the world."  He said if there is any violation, actions like blacklisting and cancellation of contracts are taken.  Antony said the government will not leave any room for anybody to makes compromise over integrity and transparency and will take strong action against whoever is responsible.  "We will protect every inch of our motherland," he said