Bonhomie as Antony, Army Chief meet

February 22, 2012 12:58 am | Updated November 17, 2021 12:14 am IST - NEW DELHI

Defence Minister A.K. Antony shares a laugh with Army Chief Gen V.K. Singh at a function in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony shares a laugh with Army Chief Gen V.K. Singh at a function in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Signalling a return of normality after the controversy over the issue of age of General V.K. Singh was settled, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and the Chief of the Army Staff were seen together at an official function at South Block here on Tuesday.

Mr. Antony, who was the chief guest at the presentation of awards to best services hospitals, shared some lighter moments with Gen. Singh. The meeting was the first official interaction between them since February 10, when the Supreme Court disposed of the case. Last week, the Minister emphasised there was no strain in his relations with the Army Chief.

It is understood that the Minister asked Gen. Singh about his visit to the United Kingdom and expressed the hope that the Army Chief was more relaxed now than the day he left India on the trip, soon after the case was disposed of.

Last week, Mr. Antony reiterated that the government had complete confidence in the Army Chief, a statement it had made before the apex court on February 10.

Sources in the Ministry said the top echelons were unhappy that some sections of the media continued to keep the issue alive even days after it was settled in court.

On his part, Mr. Antony had appealed to all, including the media, to leave the past behind and move forward. “It is a closed chapter… work is going on… do not rake up the issue… let us move forward in country's interest. India cannot afford such a controversy in national interest,” he told journalists.

Mr. Antony said that in the backdrop of the year of birth controversy, the Ministry asked the armed forces to reconcile their records so that an issue of this kind would not crop up again.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.