The army’s refusal to appoint the senior-most Lieutenant General, VK Singh, the next vice-chief has kicked up a serious debate.
The Indian military establishment will see sweeping changes in the next few weeks. While most changes are routine and necessitated by retirements and end of tenures across the army, navy and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), one appointment has raised many an eyebrow.
The army’s refusal to appoint the senior-most Lieutenant General, VK Singh, the next vice-chief has kicked up a serious debate. Many are wondering if there is a larger design behind the move. By tradition, Singh should move to Delhi and take over from General Deepak Kapoor when he retires as the army chief.
Sources said the army headquarters had recommended Lieutenant General PC Bhardwaj, chief of the Udhampur-based northern command, as the next vice-chief. They said the defence minister may have made a last-minute intervention to salvage the situation, but Singh, who heads the Kolkata-based eastern command, may not become the vice-chief. An MoD officer said defence minister AK Antony would go by the army
chief’s recommendation.
On the other hand, lobbying is under way by various groups for the post of the next DRDO chief. Incumbent M Natarajan, who is also scientific advisor to the defence minister, is retiring at month-end. His replacement will be chosen by the government from the military research agency’s senior chief comptrollers, who include BrahMos missile corporation chief A Sivathanu Pillai, chief of aeronautical laboratories Dipankar Banerjee and VK Saraswat, who is in charge of missile and strategic systems.
Meanwhile, the navy is set for about a dozen peaceful changes at the top. Vice-Admiral and eastern naval commander Nirmal Verma will take over from Admiral Sureesh Mehta when the navy chief retires at the end of the month. Vice-Admiral Anup Singh, presently deputy chief of the integrated defence staff, will replace Verma as the eastern command chief.
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