Calcutta Telegraph; Saturday , April 16 , 2011,
New Delhi, April 15: A rift in the top echelons of the army that was evident during investigations into the Sukna land transfer case has been resurrected and now threatens to disrupt the line of succession for the post of army chief.
Two army commanders, who are possible successors to General V.K. Singh will have to wait for the government’s acceptance of a law ministry advisory to determine the chief’s age.
For the moment, India does not know how old it’s army chief is 60 or 61 years of age. He has to retire at 62.
Eastern army commander Lt General Bikram Singh or Northern army commander Lt General K.T. Parnaik could emerge as the most likely choice for the chief, depending on whether the government will accept a law ministry advisory to determine V.K. Singh’s age and extend his tenure.
The adjutant general’s (AG) branch in army headquarters and the military secretary’s (MS) office have recorded different dates of birth for Singh.
The AG’s branch lists it as May 10, 1951 and the MS branch as May 10, 1950.
The discrepancy arose when Lt General Avadhesh Prakash was the military secretary. Prakash retired last year and is now awaiting court martial after an army court of inquiry indicted him for influencing junior officers, including Lt General P.K. Rath who was the deputy chief-designate, in league with a Siliguri-based realtor who wanted to acquire land adjacent to the Sukna military station in north Bengal.
Rath was punished in January this year. The court of inquiry was ordered by General V.K. Singh when he was the army commander in Fort William, immediately before taking over as the chief on March 31 last year. The inquiry was presided over by Lt General Parnaik.
An RTI query was referred by the defence ministry to the law ministry for its advice. The law ministry has now said that General V.K. Singh’s school leaving certificate, that records his date of birth as May 10, 1951, is a bonafide document.
The decision will have to be taken by the appointments committee of cabinet (ACC) on the recommendation of the defence ministry.
According to the terms of his appointment as the chief of army staff, General V.K. Singh will serve for two years or till he is 62, whichever is earlier. If the ACC accepts his year of birth as 1951, he may get an extension or else he retires in June 2012.
In the event of his retirement in June 2012, the eastern army commander, Lt General Bikram Singh, emerges as the seniormost and next-in-line to be the chief. If the current chief’s term is extended by a year, then Lt General Parnaik could be the successor.
.JPG)
.JPG)
