Gen Singh's letter to PM may be used against him

Manmohan meets senior MoD officers

As a section of parliamentarians demanded Army chief Gen V K Singh’s dismissal after excerpts of a “top secret” letter he wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was leaked to a section of the media, questions are being raised whether a government wing other than Army headquarters was responsible for the leak.

The situation appeared to have changed within 24 hours for Gen Singh who, a couple of days ago, landed a bombshell, claiming that a retired Lt Gen had tried to bribe him for clearing a deal involving a consignment of trucks in 2010. After the leak of Gen Singh’s letter to the prime minister, which drew his attention to the abysmal condition of the Army’s arsenal, the spotlight is on Gen V K Singh, suggesting that he might have leaked out the “top secret” missive to a section of the press.

And yet, there is a heated debate among senior officers of the armed forces, both serving and retired, that the leak could have taken place at a quarter other than Army headquarters, with the objective of discrediting Gen Singh who has continued to embarrass the government.

While ministers and senior bureaucrats remaining tightlipped on the government’s future course of action, Defence Minister A K Antony promised “appropriate action” – whether to sack the Army chief – in consultation with the prime minister. But sources told Deccan Herald that the prime minister might convene a high-level meeting after the BRICS summit to take a call on the controversial Army chief who continues to embarrass the government after dragging it to court in January this year.

Following the publication of the contents of Gen Singh’s letter, a meeting headed by the prime minister was convened in Parliament before the day’s proceedings were to begin.

The meeting was attended, inter alia, by members on the Cabinet Committee on Security and top Ministry of Defence officers, including Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, Additional Secretary Subhash Chandra, Director-General (Acquisitions) Vivek Rae, Joint Secretary Reena Verma and senior officials of the Prime Minister’s Office. The MoD officers are learnt to have apprised the CCS of the present state of the Army’s ammunition stock.

At the political level, along with some Opposition parties, the Congress’ ally, the NCP, is understood to be in favour of Gen Singh’s ouster two months before his controversial tenure comes to an end.

The Congress and the BJP have taken the stand that Gen Singh should not be dismissed at this juncture. Opposition parties like the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Samajwadi Party have sought his sack. Senior Congress leader and Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vyalar Ravi said of Gen Singh, “He is a frustrated man.”

Ravi also indicated that the Army chief should be removed forthwith. Flagging issues like short supply of tank ammunition and obsolete air defence system mentioned in that letter, BJP members demanded a response from the defence minister. At the same time, they admitted that leaking of the letter was a serious matter.

But Antony said: “It is a top secret letter. It is not expected to go out. I am aware of that letter as defence minister and the government will respond to it at an appropriate time. After consulting the prime minister and other colleagues, we would take appropriate action.”

On the issues raised by Gen Singh in his letter, Antony said: “These issues are being examined in the Ministry of Defence. By their very nature, such issues cannot form the subject of public debate. Publishing the content of secret communication within government cannot serve our national security.”

The minister's response came after sharp criticisms from Parliamentarians on continued media leaks on matters related to armed forces.  Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said, “Across in the media, too, many pieces of information, which disturb us, are coming with regard to the integrity of the procurement process.”

CPM’s Sitaram Yechury said it was “a matter of utmost concern that such confidential matters of communication are leaked into public domain. This is something that has to be seriously inquired into and action must be taken against whoever is responsible. That responsibility will have to be fixed and action taken irrespective of the position that he may hold in the defence forces or in the civilian administration.”

RJD supermo Lau Prasad wondered why the Army chief remained silent for all these months and how the money allocated to the Army was spent if there were not enough ammunition for the tanks.

“He should be fired for gross indiscipline,” said JD-U leader Shivanad Tiwari. BJD leader Pyari Mohan Mahapatra said the government could sack the Army chief without any inquiry under Article 311, which bestowed such powers on the government.

Assuring the Upper House on the country’s defence preparedness, Antony said the government had spared no effort and would do everything necessary to ensure that the defence forces are provided, equipped and trained to be the among the best fighting forces in the world.