Army chief calls on V.K. Singh

As the Minister for Development of Northeast Region was also his predecessor, the army chief discussed infrastructure development in the region which is seen as an imperative to improve the security situation.

Army chief Gen Bikram Singh on Friday met his predecessor and Minister for Development of Northeast Region Gen (retd) V K Singh, who reportedly did not share good vibes with him, and discussed with him issues of mutual interest as the Army has substantial presence in the region.

Army sources said the Army chief called on him at his office and the meeting lasted close to 30 minutes.

“It was a courtesy call which also involved matters of professional interests for both of them. As V K Singh was his predecessor, Bikram Singh wanted to congratulate him. Besides, the Army has a lot of stake in the Northeast region and so they discussed matters concerning it as well,” they said.

Among other issues, both discussed the matter of infrastructure development in the region which is seen imperative to improve the security situation.

V K Singh as the Army chief did not share the best of relations with his deputy Bikram Singh and had fought a bitter row with the previous UPA government over his date of birth.

Had V K Singh succeeded in getting his date of birth changed and prolonged his tenure, Bikram Singh would have missed out on the chance to become the Army chief.

Bikram Singh later overturned some of rpt of V K Singh’s decisions which included placing the then Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag under a Disciplinary and Vigilance (DV) ban, paving the way for Suhag to be designated as the Army chief after Bikram Singh retires.