Under attack over the purported activities of a secret intelligence unit set up by him, the former Army Chief, General V.K. Singh, has termed “motivated” the charges against him even as a meeting of top officials discussed the issue.
A day after media carried reports that the Technical Support Division (TSD) set up during his tenure had allegedly attempted to destabilise the Omar Abdullah government, General (retd.) Singh dubbed the allegations “most absurd.”
The former Army Chief said it was “laughable and most absurd” allegation that he was trying to topple the Jammu and Kashmir government. The Army had done a lot of things to bring stability there.
Attacking Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for “misgovernance,” Gen. Singh denied that the TSD was used for destabilising the government. On the charge that the TSD was misused for unauthorised operations and that it had indulged in financial wrongdoings, he claimed that the Army and the Defence Ministry had found “nothing suspicious” against the unit in their probe and had sent the probe report to the National Security Adviser for closure.
“The reports on the whole issue are motivated and there are a number of reasons behind them, including my sharing dais with BJP leader Narendra Modi. There is a nexus between arms dealers and those behind the reports,” Gen. Singh told PTI here.
After the government decided to close the issue by sending it to the NSA, “a Joint Secretary of the Defence Ministry has leaked this report against me,” Gen. Singh claimed.
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon is understood to have held a meeting of top officials to discuss the issue and its implications.
As the controversy raged, the Congress said that anyone denigrating the fair name of the Army could not go scot-free and would be punished. Party leader from Jammu and Kashmir Saifuddin Soz demanded a probe into the matter.
