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.

Suhag should reply to notice rather than going to media: Army Chief

Denying any infighting in top brass of the Indian Army, Army Chief General VK Singh on Friday said that the show cause notice to Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag – slated to take over as Army Chief in 2014, is a routine matter and his junior officer was not justified in “brandishing” it to the media.

Asked if the show cause notice was his “personnel vendetta” against senior Army officer, General Singh told the Defence Express: “Let me tell you some hard facts about the show cause notice. It sent on certain grounds from a senior officer to a junior officer. It is the moral duty of the junior officer to reply to the show cause notice rather than going and brandishing it to the media.”

The General was speaking on the sidelines of a book release function. The book is called “Assault of merit” and chronicles various cases of decorated officers being superseded or short-changed by an insensitive bureaucracy and civil government.

The show cause notice issued by the Army Chief just a week before his retirement has raised quite a few eyebrows in the defence establishment. The incumbent General Officer in Commanding of Dimapur-based 3 Corps, Lt Gen Suhag has been alleged of “abdicating responsibility” in handling an intelligence and surveillance unit in a “most unprofessional and lackadaisical manner”.

Lt Gen Suhag has six days to reply to this show cause notice.

The General has also sought to put a Disciplinary and Vigilance ban on Suhag that will stall his appointment as the Eastern Army Commander after the incumbent and Chief-designate Lt Gen Bikram Singh moves to New Delhi to take over the reins of the 1.2 million-strong Indian Army. In reply to a query that the show cause notice will impinge of the Army’s line of succession, the General remarked: “There is no line of succession in the Indian Army.”

This was the second time that Lt Gen Suhag has come under fired from the Army Chief. Earlier General Singh in his CBI complaint has accused the Lt Gen of misappropriation of funds in purchase of parachutes while heading the Special Frontier Force (SFF) and has requested a probe against him. The accusation came even as the Army Head Quarter under him recommended Lt Gen Suhag for the same post. The Cabinet Secretariat later turned down the request for inquiry as saying the alleged procurement had not been done.

However, the Ministry of Defence - that so far has refrained from interfering in the matter - is said to have taken “cognizance” of the issue. The Defence Ministry says that there has been a precedence of a succeeding Army Chief lifting a DV ban put by his predecessor. Former army chief General Deepak Kapoor had put a DV ban against present Deputy Army Chief Lt Gen RS Halgali only to be revoked by General Singh. General Singh in fact cleared his appointment as Deputy Army Chief.

The Army Chief, who will hang his boots on May 31 after 42 years of eventful and controversy-riddled carrier, also dismissed suggestions of “infighting” amongst the top echelons of the force. “There is no infighting in the Army. Lots of things are unnecessary blown up by the media,” General Singh added. Earlier this year in an interview, the Chief had blown up the lid from the Tatra scam and has alleged that army chiefs before him had taken money.

The Army Chief also dared Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh to produce any evidence whatsoever about the General intercepting the phone calls of the Defence Minister AK Antony and Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the peak of the age controversy.”Tell Tejinder Singh to not to spread lies. If he has the evidence, ask him to produce it.”