BJP said his inaction and indecisiveness were proving extremely costly for the country and wondered if this drove General VK Singh to speak to the media about being offered bribe.
Training its guns on Defence Minister AK Antony, the BJP on Monday said his inaction and indecisiveness were proving extremely costly for the country and wondered if this drove General VK Singh to speak to the media about being offered bribe.
The party, at the same time, questioned why the army chief did not take immediate action against the guilty person and instead chose to approach the Defence Minister.
"I have known the Defence Minister longer than I have known the Army Chief. AK Antony specialises in the art of indecision. His style of functioning is one of silence, inaction and indecisiveness. The consequences of this will have to be borne by the armed forced. The Ministry of Defence cannot function like this," BJP leader Jaswant Singh told reporters here.
He asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to wake up and come clean on the allegations made by General Singh that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore for an equipment deal. He also sought a clarification from Antony on the whole issue.
The opposition party alleged that Antony leaves issues undecided and his silence and indecision are proving extremely costly for the country. "Taking a decision is the most difficult task for him," Jaswant Singh said.
He maintained that inaction and inadequate response from Antony may have necessitated this public airing.
"Was the indecision of the defence minister the reason for the army chief's decision to go to the press?" he said.
However, he said it is unclear why the army chief did not order the immediate arrest of the person who had offered him the bribe.
"Why did he not immediately call his military police and put this man in a locker. This is an insult to the army. Why did he choose instead to go to the defence minister?" Jaswant Singh said.
Jaswant Singh, a former Defence Minister, also sought to know what was the response of Antony when General V K Singh apprised him of the bribe offer.
Asked about Antony's decision to order a CBI inquiry into the bribery issue, Jaswant Singh said he has always maintained that the defence ministry should deal with such matters on its own.
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