Uneasy MoD wants details of Singh’s notice
26 May 2012 1:55 AM GMT
Two days after the army chief Gen Vijai Kumar Singh issued a show-cause notice to Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, the Ministry of Defence has sought to know the details of the case. It has also questioned the reason for instituting a 'defence and vigilance' ban on 3 Corps commander.
The defence and vigilance ban by the army is a serious stricture passed on an officer when there are cases of corruption or indiscipline against him. The ban on Suhag has stopped his elevation as an army commander, that is, the head of one of the five regional commands or even the training command.
The ministry's intervention came as reports on the army were dominating the environment. Many had found a connection with Gen Singh's desire to fix the succession line in good time after his departure. But Gen Singh's supporters say that he had to act just seven days before his departure because the court of inquiry held at the Eastern Command submitted its report at the fag end of his tenure.
Some sources say that the government also wanted to know whether Lt Gen Bikram Singh, who is in line to become the next chief, had been 'kept in the loop' by the army headquarters, when it took all those crucial decisions. The official spokesperson of the ministry refused to confirm whether the query was made about Bikram Singh.
V K Singh rejected the charge that he was trying to block the promotion of a Suhag. He also denied that there was any infighting in the army. 'There is no line of succession in the army. Please, stop thinking about it,' Gen Singh said when asked to comment on allegations that he was trying to affect the line of succession in the force by issuing a show cause notice to Suhag, who could be the army chief in two years.
Commenting on the show-cause notice issued, V K Singh said, 'A show cause notice is issued on certain grounds by a senior officer to a junior officer.
'It is the moral duty of the junior to reply to that, rather than running around and go to the media and show it to people that he got a notice. Why he has done it, please ask him.'
The defence and vigilance ban by the army is a serious stricture passed on an officer when there are cases of corruption or indiscipline against him. The ban on Suhag has stopped his elevation as an army commander, that is, the head of one of the five regional commands or even the training command.
The ministry's intervention came as reports on the army were dominating the environment. Many had found a connection with Gen Singh's desire to fix the succession line in good time after his departure. But Gen Singh's supporters say that he had to act just seven days before his departure because the court of inquiry held at the Eastern Command submitted its report at the fag end of his tenure.
Some sources say that the government also wanted to know whether Lt Gen Bikram Singh, who is in line to become the next chief, had been 'kept in the loop' by the army headquarters, when it took all those crucial decisions. The official spokesperson of the ministry refused to confirm whether the query was made about Bikram Singh.
V K Singh rejected the charge that he was trying to block the promotion of a Suhag. He also denied that there was any infighting in the army. 'There is no line of succession in the army. Please, stop thinking about it,' Gen Singh said when asked to comment on allegations that he was trying to affect the line of succession in the force by issuing a show cause notice to Suhag, who could be the army chief in two years.
Commenting on the show-cause notice issued, V K Singh said, 'A show cause notice is issued on certain grounds by a senior officer to a junior officer.
'It is the moral duty of the junior to reply to that, rather than running around and go to the media and show it to people that he got a notice. Why he has done it, please ask him.'
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