BJP cautions govt against appointing army chief before 16 May

New Delhi: Amid reports that the Defence Ministry has initiated the process of appointing Vice Army Chief Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as next Army Chief, BJP today sounded a word of caution to the government on the “hurry” and asked it to avoid taking decisions till elections are over. The present army chief Gen Bikram Singh retires on 31 July. “I am not going into the specifics of any particular name but surely on the larger issue of naming the next General and reports about Lokpal appointment, we expect that when we are in the midst of elections, when the Model Code of Conduct is in force, at least till 16th of May all these things must be avoided,” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said. [caption id=“attachment_1487115” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] Former Army Chief Gen V K Singh, when asked, said government should not “hurry” on making such appointments. “There is still time for retirement of the present Army Chief and the UPA government should not hurry in making any appointment at this point of time,” Gen Singh told PTI. He, however, refused to comment on any particular individual when asked if he was against the appointment of Lt Gen Suhag as the next Army Chief. The former Army chief, who has joined BJP and is contesting as its candidate from Ghaziabad, had days before his retirement initiated action against Suhag and imposed a disciplinary and vigilance ban, which was later lifted by the present Army Chief. PTI