A few more twists left in army chief's tale

The UPA government has placed itself in the unprecedented situation of announcing the next chief of army staff without issuing the legal orders for the retirement of the present incumbent on May 31. The result is that if army chief General VK Singh, embroiled in an age controversy with the government, does not resign or retire on May 31, the government will have two army chiefs in position on the said date.

Reports carried by the media that the military secretary’s branch had issued the retirement warning letter to General Singh end-February are false, according to well-informed sources. No such letter has been issued as yet as the legal position is still not clear, and the government is required to issue legal orders to the military branch before it can go ahead with the RWL.

The Supreme Court refused to take a position on the chief’s actual date of birth and although at the time both the government and General Singh made peace, the controversy whether he was born in 1950 or 1951 remains wide open. In the absence of a legal course correction, the government has not been able to respond to the army’s requirement for such an order to move ahead with the RWL that is usually issued eight months before a chief retires. In General Singh’s case it has not been issued yet.

The sources said that the report claiming that the retirement orders had been served and the chief was all set to retire on May 31 this year had been deliberately ‘planted.’ The military branch is still waiting for the legal orders, with the current position being that the government has rushed to announce Lt General Bikram Singh as the new chief without serving the necessary orders to General Singh. In case the army chief who is said to be extremely ‘hurt and upset’ about the canards being floated against him continues his mission to clear his reputation, he could well stay on in office till the next year when he is due to retire as per his stand.

General Singh went on the record several days ago to say that the army was waiting for legal orders. Soon after, the sources said, prime minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency meeting and the government decided to appoint Lt General Bikram Singh as the next chief a full 90 days, instead of the requisite 60 days, in advance. General Bikram Singh is said to be close to former Army Chief JJ Singh with both sharing personal relations with the PM.

The UPA government in its desire to get rid of General Singh, widely recognised in the army as an ‘upright, honest officer’, has left itself wide open to the possibility of a major face-off between two senior officers of the Indian Army on May 31. The ‘paperwork’ as the sources said, has not been cleared and the way for the smooth retirement of General VK Singh remains ridden with obstacles in view of the continuing legal confusion over his date of birth.

If General VK Singh goes by the necessary technicalities and remains in office the government will have two options. One to sack him and run the risk of further alienating an already upset and resentful army, and two, to withdraw their man Lt Gen Bikram Singh for the post and allow the present army chief to serve out the remaining 10 months in office until he retires in March next year.

Relations between the army and the defence ministry have hit a new low, with the officers blaming the bureaucrats for ‘planting’ a steady stream of stories in the media against the army and the chief. A full front page report in a national newspaper under the editor-in-chief’s byline has created ripples within the army with a senior officer describing it as a ‘pack of lies and innuendoes.’ The suggestion that the army had tried to execute a coup was strongly denied by the government, with several red faces admitting that the concerned newspaper had gone far out of line with the story that had no basis in facts. This was done when the army chief was in Nepal, leading officers to point out that the ‘plants’ are given to newspapers usually when he is travelling.