Ashok Mehta.
Phone calls last week from friends -including a former diplomat and an erstwhile minister –king ‘what is wrong with your Army chief’ and the Amul ad (“Adaulat ka mamla? Don’t sena to it”) briefly encapsulate the self-inflicted discomfiture of Gen VK Singh. The disclosure of an attempted bribe and the inexplicable leak of a classified letter written by Gen Singh to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about critical deficiencies in army equipment show holes in operational preparedness at one level and on another, the pathetic state of relations between Gen Singh, defence minister A K Antony and the ministry of defence (MoD).
Never has a serving army chief taken his government to court; and later made startling disclosures through the media, perfectly timed to embarrass it with Parliament in session and a BRICS summit under way. Antony comes out of this certainly as probity personified but also singularly lacking in managing Gen Singh, his ministry and the modernization of the armed forces- what with bragging on the floor of the House, his penchant for cancelling contracts and blacklisting arms companies.
This year alone the Army and Air Force returned unspent nearly Rs 4000 crore from their capital accounts, despite streamlined defence procurement procedures that have been revised half a dozen times since 2003. This is a betrayal of the promise made by Prime Minister Singh during his New Year message that he would personally ensure the modernization of the armed forces.
The central figure of this Greek tragedy is inevitably Gen Singh who has allowed serious issues connected with the sword arm of the state to virtually become a trial by media, which rocked both Houses of Parliament, culminating in some members demanding his resignation. It is no secret that Gen Singh is incensed over losing the battle about his age. He has spoken to the media, complaining about the Supreme Court verdict saying his date of birth has to be reconciled. He feels he is being marginalized because he was targeting corruption and trying to improve the internal health of the Army in organizational interest.
What he does not explain is some of the improprieties he committed while holding the sacred office of the COAS: like taking the government to court and not resigning after losing the case. With two months left before demitting office, Gen Singh has launched a riposte to salvage his image. That in doing so he has exposed the cracks and warts in the system is laudable. But the modus operandi is highly suspect and objectionable.
Take the alleged bribery case. For two years after the incident – which Gen Singh ostensibly audiotaped – he sat over it. Worse, he declined to proceed against the offending officer, Lt Gen Tejinder Singh despite Antony’s prodding, till last week. This was followed by the mysterious leak of a confidential letter from him to the Prime Minister highlighting critical shortages in the army. The very latest target is a serving lieutenant general on a complaint of May 2011.
Lt Gen Tejinder Singh has taken Gen VK Singh to court for libel along with the vice chief, chief of military intelligence and senior officers of the public information department. You have the sorry spectacle of an enquiry where, for the first time in history, a serving chief, defence minister and MoD officials will be quizzed by the CBI. You cannot have the hierarchy of the second largest army which is required to fight a two-front war, under investigation. This is a bizarre situation in which the image of the Army, office of the COAS and national security have been directly imperiled.
The Prime Minister must immediately rein in Gen Singh. A ministerial task force must be constituted to examine why army operational preparedness has dipped so low and why civil-military relations have reached a nadir. It must also enquire why army is unable to spend its modernization budget in full. This year alone it returned unspent Rs 3000 crore.
Gen Singh has clearly shifted the focus of the debate from himself to issues of corruption and debilitating delays in modernization. I urge Gen Singh to stop the sequential disclosures in organizational interest and ride out into the sunset.
The author is a retired major general and founding member of the Defence Planning Staff.
-via The Times of India.
Retired generals use up every opportunity they get to grind their axes with the MOD whom they resent for keeping them on a tight leash. Services thinks there should not be civilian control over procurement, promotions and appointments. But it is for sure that when procurement is decentralised and given to Army, there will be many more corrupt Officers than now because presently there are very little avenues for corruption except in ASC,MES and the likes. Let us not have an Army/Airforce/Navy which is corrupt too !
The retired Maj Gen comments are not warranted – though they appear sensational in the write up.
I am amased about this write up for the following reasons :
a. The retired General must be frustrated while in service and not becoming a Lt Gen or even the Chief Of the Army Staff. So he should be clear – people living in glass houses should not throw stones !
b. Gen VK SIngh IS STILL THE CHIEF – wheteher he rides out in the sunset is none of the business of the retired general.
c. The poor retired Maj Gen too rode out in the sunset some time ago – may be with frusrations of being superseded – now he started to preach what he could not practice.
How does the retired Maj Gen know as to how much monies the Army returned in the years …is he the CAG ? He must leave it to the concerned organisations to follow up.
Come on retired Maj Gen – you are now retired – just focus on trirement and dont make accusations or suggestions without any authority, and without any proof – make factual observations.