As Indian Army chief General V.K. Singh’s battle with the government over his age controversy has come to the fore, the Centre is not taking any chance. In the latest development, the government has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court seeking to be heard before it passes any order on the petition filed by the army chief.
In related developments over, Defence Minister AK Antony on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. On the other side, defence secretary S.K. Sharma has been asked to cut short his official visit to Malaysia to help in the fire fighting.
General Singh’s move to approach the Supreme Court over his age dispute has not gone down well with the government. Sources told Headlines Today that Antony has been advised against reaching out to the disgruntled chief. The general opinion in the government has been that Gen Singh has been isolated.
The army chief’s decision to sue the government has already divided opinion within the army and it was felt any retributive action would reflect badly on the government.
The government has also decided to go ahead with the process of appointing the next army chief. Sources said Gen Singh’s likely successor Lt Gen Bikram Singh has sought legal advice, both from within the army and from a civil lawyer on his options.
Lt Gen Singh, who heads the Eastern Command, is the front-runner for the post of next army chief after General Singh retires on May 31. He has been accused of staging a fake encounter by the mother of an alleged militant killed in firing by Rashtriya Rifles in Anantnag in March 2001.
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