Modi govt distances itself from VK Singh Vs Suhag battle

Former army chief VK Singh caused a massive stir in Parliament because of his comments against the appointment of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as the next army chief. Suhag will take over as army chief on 31 July. [caption id=“attachment_1567187” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Former army chief VK Singh’s comments have caused a great stir in the parliament. AFP[/caption] Now, with even BJP and the government choosing not to extend support to him and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley stating that Suhag’s appointment is final, sections of the government feel VK Singh has brought them a great deal of embarrassment. In a recent tweet, Singh accused Suhag of protecting officers who had allegedly committed murder and dacoity.However, according to a report in The Indian Express, both the cases against Corps Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (CIU) officers have already been extensively probed and closed by the army. The first case refers to the raiding of contractor Surajit Gogoi’s house in Jorhat. “Gogoi alleged that Army personnel had broken into his house, blindfolded his wife and three children, and taken a number of items, which he has listed before the Gauhati High Court,” said the report. The report adds that the Jorhat police had filed a case of dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt. Gogoi also moved the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Gauhati High Court, following which the army submitted its probe report to the court on Tuesday. The probe was completed, dismissing one CIU officer and awarding punishments to two others which grievously damaged their career. Moreover, Suhag had not even taken charge of the CIU when the incident had taken place. The second case involved Major Ravi Kiran alleging that 3 CIU officers had engaged in a fake encounter against innocents whose decomposed bodies were discovered in March 2010.  Kiran made the accusation in 2012, a full two years after the bodies were discovered. Also,  Suhag was a major general in Delhi when the bodies were discovered. Suhag took charge of the CIU in March 2011, a year after the bodies were discovered. The probe conducted by a Brigadier into this case found Kiran’s allegations to be baseless. Furthermore, “after the probe was closed, a PIL in the Manipur High Court this year alleged Dalbir Singh’s involvement in the ‘fake encounter’. His name was later taken off the list of respondents after it was pointed out he was not in charge of 3 Corps in 2010.” Thus, one of the strangest aspects about Singh’s allegations against Suhag is that Suhag was never in charge of the CIU when each of the incidents took place. However, Singh’s comments against Suhag was only a reaction of the affidavit filed by the Ministry of Defence in the Supreme Court in 2012, alleging that Singh’s decision to impose a discipline and vigilance (DV) promotion ban on Suhag was “illegal”, “vague” and “premeditated.” The affidavit was prepared by Mohan Parasaran, solicitor general under UPA rule and had been cleared without running it by Jaitley. Singh had also tweeted against this affidavit.

A report in The Times of India said that the government stated that the language used in the affidavit was provocative. “MoD affidavit should have been better drafted without using the harsh language against V K Singh, given the change in the political dispensation," an official source is quoted as saying in The Times of India report. Moreover, the report added that the BJP had initially objected to the previous government’s hurry to appoint the next army chief. The Congress is expectedly demanding Singh’s resignation, but the government too Even the government has distanced itself from Singh’s remarks. Defence minister Arun Jaitley had said in the Rajya Sabha, “As far as government is concerned, the appointment (Lt Gen Suhag as Army chief) is final and government stands by it." “How can we defend a minister who attacks the next Army chief? The UPA government played with institutions… We are here to restore credibility, not damage it further,” said a BJP minister, in another report in The Indian Express. Even BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy’s defence of Singh was not supported by the party. “We have a minister targeting the next Army chief and a party leader coming to his defence without taking any brief from the leadership. As if there is any dearth of self-appointed advisers to the Prime Minister,” said a senior BJP leader in the report. The report added that PM Narendra Modi was upset over this controversy and could contact Singh over the issue.