Political interference in promotion of top brass marring institution: Army Chief

Indian Army Chief General VK Singh, who has stood up to the civil administration many a times be on his age issue or the sluggish modernization of the force, on Friday said that the political set up has managed to “wedge its way” in the selection of top brass of the force.

Implying that the political interference was going to have long-term repercussions, the General said that the politicians and bureaucrats need to recognize this.

In the book called “Assault on Merit” released by him in the capital on Friday, the Army Chief has given an interview on the issue of promotions and the lacunas that exist within the defence establishment.

“What needs to be done is to follow the DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training) norms which are based on a simple premise that the decision of Selection Board will be final.

“These are the extremely well laid-down norms and are followed rigidly in the case of the IAS and the IPS. But in our case the Ministry of Defence has managed to wedge its way into the process,” the General said. He went on to add: “Somewhere along the line, the bureaucrats managed to slip into the Defence Selection Rules that ‘recommendations of the (Selection) Board are recommendatory in nature’ and this opened the door to all sorts of manipulations.

General Singh who has completed a tenure of about two years as the Chief of Army Staff contended himself to be a year younger than as determined by his then army chief General (retd) Deepak Kapoor and later the Ministry of Defence. This, his close associates claim, has been done to cut short his tenure as the Indian Army Chief at the behest of certain senior officers and politicians to maintain a “line of succession” in the force rather than merit and to facilitate elevation of certain officers to the top most post.

The Army Chief said that during his tenure he has tried to “tweak” the system to maintain “objectivity and merit” in promotion in the Army. The Army Chief said that the promotion of an officer at senior level should acknowledge his “leadership qualities” based on a 360 degree evaluation arrived at on the basis of feedback given by his seniors, juniors and his professional reputation.

For promotions to Major General and above ranks the defence ministry is replaced by Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) that ratifies not only the promotions but also appointments as Corps and Army Commanders. “Political interference lends yet another dimension to the entire thing. That is where the Institutional Integrity of the armed forces has to be protected at all costs.

“If you throw a stone into the pond, the ripples are felt everywhere – on the face of it, the affected party may be an individual, but in the ultimate analysis, everything has its own repercussions. Our political and bureaucratic class has to recognize this,” the Chief sums up.