Rawat chosen to address current security situation: BJP

Congress, Left question supersession in Army Chief choice.

The BJP on Sunday condemned the Congress for the latter's attack on the government over the appointment of the new Army Chief , saying there should be no politics with regard to the defence forces. The BJP asserted that Lt. Gen. B .S. Rawat was elevated keeping in mind the current security scenario.

The new Army Chief was picked from a pool of five senior-most officers, who are all competent. General Rawat's appointment should not be seen as a negative against others, the party said.

“They are all competent officers but under the prevailing security scenario, the government found Lt. Gen. Rawat as the most suitable candidate. We will urge all political parties to not do politics over it,” BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said. “If any party has flouted the democratic norms most, it is the Congress party. The BJP has always adhered to democratic norms.”

Congress raises doubts

The appointment of Gen. Rawat set off a flurry of reactions, with Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari saying every institution has its own dynamics, hierarchy and seniority, which is the overriding dynamic of the armed forces — not only in India but everywhere in the world.

“With all due respect to Gen Rawat's professionalism and no personal animus towards anybody, there is a legitimate question on why that supersession has taken place,” he said. ''The argument that the Congress too appointed General Vaidya as Army Chief over General Sinha [who was the senior in the case] in the 1980s, and, therefore, this government too has the right to do so is “complete nonsense.”

“Every situation has its own context and, therefore, nothing can be extrapolated out of context to justify a supersession,” Mr. Tewari said. He accused the government of “playing with institutions” and wondered if the appointment was “whimsical cherry picking”.

Controversial appointments

CPI leader D. Raja also questioned the government's move, saying appointments have become controversial. “Appointments in the Army have become controversial, the appointments in the judiciary are already controversial, the appointments of Central Vigilance Commissioners, CBI director and to the Central Information Commission — all these top-level appointments are becoming very controversial,” he said. “It is not in the interest of democracy and the country,” he added.