Somebody within government “had some agenda”
Five days before his controversial 26-month tenure as Army Chief comes to an end, General V.K. Singh on Saturday criticised the Defence Ministry for “selectively leaking” information to “fix” him.
In a series of interviews to TV channels, the General also made no secret of his unhappiness with the Supreme Court where he lost a legal battle over his age in February. In an apparent reference to a remark by Justice R.M. Lodha, one of the two judges on the Bench that heard his case, the Army Chief said a very senior apex court judge had told him to “blow with the wind.”
“If all of us are going to blow with the wind then we will all become muggers, we will all become corrupt,” he said, according to a transcript of his interview released by the Times Now channel.
Justice Lodha had actually remarked, “Wise men are those who move with the wind. We take pride in having [an] officer like you. Credit must go to you.”
In a separate interview to CNN-IBN, the Army Chief said he had withdrawn his petition on the age issue because the Supreme Court gave no decision. “They tried to arbitrate. Then I realised that you are fighting a system.”
During the interviews, Gen. Singh said it was not “just lobbies” working against him, but “some people are trying to protect people who are basically doing wrong things.”
Turning on the Defence Ministry, he said papers related to his age were “illegitimately” released. Some papers that should never have been released under RTI rules were released and these included a couple of pages which the Ministry itself had labelled “top secret.”
Asked if he was saying that he had been set up, the General replied, “obviously.”
When pressed to state who was releasing the information, Gen. Singh said it was the Ministry. “Absolutely,” the General answered when asked whether he was saying that information was being selectively leaked to “fix you.”
Barely concealing his anger over the leakage of his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh complaining of deficiencies and shortages in the Army, the General said this was a “treasonable act.”
He then referred to a PTI story, denied by the government, that a Joint Secretary-level officer in the Cabinet Secretariat had been held responsible for the leak.
The General said PTI did not “manufacture” stories on its own. “So somebody must have told them, somebody authoritative enough.” The leakage was done “with a purpose to create an impression that Gen. V.K. Singh is leaking it,” he said, adding, somebody within the government “had some agenda.” Asked if he would get into politics after he demits office on May 31, the Chief replied, “I haven't decided anything.”
Asked about the speculation that he might join Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Gen. Singh said: “I don't think so. All this is speculative kite flying, to say the least. And I will not go with this kite flying.”
Referring to his allegation that retired Lt. General Tejinder Singh had offered him bribe to clear a deal for Tatra trucks, the Army Chief said he had informed Defence Minister A.K. Antony as per the Services regulations.
Apparently questioning inaction by Mr. Antony then, the General said, “He [Mr. Antony] has ordered a CBI inquiry. It could have been done earlier.”
On inaction on his own part, he said, “If he [Mr. Antony] had asked me to take action, action would have been taken. Be rest assured about it.”
He, however, went on to add that because of Mr. Antony's “blessings” the file regarding the procurement of Tatra trucks was not cleared.
With regard to the controversy over his show-cause notice to 3 Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, the Army Chief criticised its leakage and suggested his involvement in it.
“Who else will go [to the media]? The notice was signed by me and it is in the name of the officer [Suhag]. Who else will handle it? ... It was his responsibility to answer that show-cause notice ... But without giving an answer, somebody goes to the press and shows the show-cause notice,” Gen. Singh said, when asked whether he suspected Lt. Gen. Suhag of having leaked the notice.
He said it was “morally unacceptable that a notice from a senior officer to a junior officer has found its way into media and started getting discussed.”
Gen. Singh has since put Lt. Gen. Suhag, who could head the force in 2014 by the current succession line, on Disciplinary and Vigilance (DV) ban, by which his promotion would be stalled.
Asked what if the government overturned his decision to put Lt. Gen. Suhag on DV ban, he said, “It will be the government's decision, not mine. People will hold the government responsible for it.”
Meanwhile, the Congress has steered clear of the remarks of Gen. Singh that information was selectively leaked by the Defence Ministry to “fix” him.
“We always treat the institution of Army with utmost respect. If at all, there are certain averments which have been made the appropriate person or the authority to reply to them or rebut them is the Ministry of Defence ...
“If at all there are any questions, with regard to what may have been said by Gen. Singh, all those queries should be directed to the Ministry of Defence,” party spokesman Manish Tewari said.
However, the Secretary of AICC ex-servicemen department Captain Praveen Davar criticised the Army Chief saying Gen. Singh was “playing havoc with the system” and had “crossed the Lakshman rekha.”
He said the outgoing Army Chief was creating a “bad precedent” which would inflict “irreparable damage” to the Army establishment.
I think,the Supreme Court had not given the ruling against Army Chief's contention
regarding his date of birth. When the Honorable Judges raised certain questions or
commented, "wise men are those who move with the wind" as reported,General VK
Singh might have considered it prudent to withdraw the petition. Now, would his
PAN Card, Voter ID Card and the like need a correction if they carry his date of
birth as per his "school leaving certificate". I believe, it is not always wise to move
with the wind, without application of mind, though it may be the path of least
resistance. In a corrupt environment, if the entire bureaucracy moves with the wind
blindly, one can gauge what is in store for the country.
I think media should look into the veracity of all the accusations/revelations made by Gen VK Singh. This way the country can be informed of where actually the truth lies, and being supportive of Gen VK Singh's stand, I hope he is vindicated later. But then am not sure if the country is in the mood to get to the bottom or maybe just want to bury the issue.
After analyzing the whole scenario it is easy to say that all issues
like age row and letter leakage were being plotted by congress party to
remove a honest officer who was not under the influence of ruling party
and always stood up with his own decisions for the benefit of indian
army
@CS Venkat: Please do not use the argument of 'break up of India' as a freeloading statement to drive home some arm chair morals. Not only it is factually incorrect to use such a statement in Indian context but it also conveys anachronistic writing style.
Ha Ha Ha.Politicians playing tricks with a commando!The defeat was sure The Hindu.You don't lay booby traps for Generals in the end.
Nice one Viswanath!!
Discord, dissension, corruption and nepotism in our highest institutions, the Government and Army can have only one consequence; that will be the eventual breakup of India. We seem to have learned nothing from history. The British became our colonial masters only because our rulers and our polity were mired in unsolvable issues. The only solution of course was a clean sweep by an external power that had superior organization and coherence! India needs more people like the honorable general V.K.Singh, without which, the fruits of our hard won freedom will be scattered in the wind!
I think,the Supreme Court had not given the ruling against Army Chief's contention regarding his date of birth. When the Honorable Judges raised certain questions or commented about "sailing with the wind" as reported, it is possible General VK Singh might have considered it prudent to withdraw the petition. Now, would his PAN Card, Voter ID Card and the like need a correction if they carry his date of birth as per his 'school leaving certificate'!
I am socked to know that A Army leader 'V.K. Singh' is running out of this. If you have wrong system you need to change it. Our country is in trouble with this all problems. Corruption is every where. Either he should join politics or he should become a Activist to bring changes.
The supreme court appreciated the General. I think the age row should have been addressed by the Supreme Court with one stroke by giving the right decision instead of asking him to go with the wind. The General might have curbed some more corrupt practises in the system.
Singh is an exceptionally upright and dedicated Army chief. He was a refreshing change from his predecesors J.J.Singh and Kapoor under whom the army became mired in corruption and nepotism. Now that Singh is leaving office, we can expect Lt. Gen Suhag to be found 'innocent' by the government and elevated to Army chief in 2014. Of course, he will be indebted to the government in return. Without a strong Chief, a unilateral withdrawal from Siachen as another 'peace initiative' cannot be ruled out. God help this country.
Quote "The Secretary of AICC ex-servicemen department Captain Praveen Davar criticised the Army Chief saying Gen. Singh was “playing havoc with the system” and had “crossed the Lakshman rekha.” unquote. Who is this Captain Davar sitting in judgment over the Army chief's actions or utterances? What is Davar's business in the matter? Army chief has not criticised the congress party or its chief. The system,Davar is talking about, is totally corrupt from the day Rajiv Gandhi played havoc with the procurement of the bofors guns from Sweden.
All the words of the General would have had some impact if he had not been trying to cling to his post through a legal case regarding his date of birth. Reminds me of an earlier Election Commissioner ( don't remember his name ) who was very active against the 'establishment' during his latter years of service and then immediately after retirement, appeared as a BJP candidate for Parliament.
I am ashamed to be an Indian, where the Prime Minister, most of the cabinet ministers, Chief ministers and their government, Judges, Police Officers and every one in authority except the common man are accused of being corrupt.
Justice Lodha's remarks, “Wise men are those who move with the wind. We take pride in having [an] officer like you. Credit must go to you” do not make sense and would have been best avoided. Similarly the generals action in pushing for an age correction at the fag end of his service has had damaging consequences. Errors of age in the records if at all are to be corrected at the early stage of service. Attempted at a later stage, they can play havoc with seniority and succession and must be avoided. The General's actions have exposed the serious factions that exist in our armed forces. The exposure in itself may not be a bad thing depending on your way of looking at it. What complicates the situation is the existence of massive corruption in defence deals and the attempts by factions in the service headquarters and the Ministry of Defence to cover up.
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