With Antony reaffirming faith in him, Army Chief unlikely to quit

Indicating that the Ministry of Defence and the Army Chief have buried the hatchet after the ugly age row, Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday reaffirmed the government’s faith in General VK Singh, making his early exit a highly unlikely scenario.

People have been egging General Singh to resign after he withdrew petition from the Supreme Court as the turn of events has made it untenable to continue as the Army Chief. In his first comment after the Supreme Court hearing on the age issue, Antony sought to put a full stop to these speculations by reposing full confidence in the Chief.

“The government has confidence in the present Chief and that was conveyed in the Supreme Court also. Everything is clear and we have confidence in him,” Antony said when asked if General Singh has offered to resign after the apex court verdict.

In carrying on with the business as usual, Antony headed to Saudi Arabia and the Army Chief proceeded with his scheduled official visit to the UK.

On February 10, General Singh withdrew his petition stating he was not interested in pressing the issue further, after the Supreme Court said the judiciary had no locus standi on changing his date of birth. The General, who pegged the discrepancy in his age as a matter of honour, was the first serving armed forces chief in Indian military history to have moved the Supreme Court against the government of the day.

Antony also expressed his relief on the resolution of the “unfortunate” controversy. “I am very happy that this very unfortunate controversy is over after the judgement of the Supreme Court. In the interest of national security, please forget and bury this unfortunate controversy.

“Whatever has happened has happened and is over now... I request my colleagues to close this chapter and let us all work together to strengthen national security. For us national interest is supreme,” Antony said.

After the age row was fought in full public glare, the Supreme Court’s observation that the Government cannot be accused of not giving a fair hearing to the General had come as a respite for the Ministry of Defence and more specifically to Antony, who was instrumental in the government’s policy of fighting the Chief’s claim in the court.

After General Singh withdrew petition speculations were rife that the Chief will opt for an early exit before his scheduled retirement on May 31, muddling the succession plan of the 1.12 million strong Indian Army.