Now PM Modi intervenes: Behind the scenes of the VK Singh crisis

First came the intemperate tweets, then came reports that he had offered to resign, followed by a declaration of his loyalty to the government. Over the space of 24 hours, Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh has been making media waves for all the wrong reasons. And while he may not be leaving the cabinet any time soon, it is clear that his fortunes are not exactly on the rise. According to media reports, the reaffirmation of his loyalty came after he was reportedly pulled up by the Prime Minister’s Office and met with the Prime Minister to discuss his tweets that were viewed by the government as unnecessarily controversial. The former army chief was reportedly asked by the Prime Minister’s Office to clarify his tweets after attending the Pakistan National Day event. Singh was also reportedly called into a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP party chief Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj regarding the matter. The Telegraph reports that the Prime Minister had viewed the former army chief’s cryptic tweets on his attending the Pakistani event as being ‘unnecessary’ and prolonging the controversy over India sending a representative to the celebration. [caption id=“attachment_2172159” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Singh at the Pakistan National Day event. PTI image[/caption] While some reports suggested that the minister had offered to quit, the Telegraph report clarified that “an emotional Singh ‘wondered aloud’ whether his stepping aside would help the government, but did not actually offer any resignation.” The former army chief  later denied that he had offered to resign. “I have not made any such offer. Sometimes some people show something by concocting it on their own. Ask them from where this news has come,” Singh said. “My tweets were directed only towards those section of the media that have questioned the intent of my government and also the stance on countering Pakistan sponsored terror. I feel that it is also important for me to clarify that I am fully committed to my party, the government and specially my Prime Minister,” he said reading from a statement. Recalling that there was “uncalled for media lashing and questioning of my nationalistic credentials” as soon as he came out of the Mission, he said, “Some even went as far as to claim that the attendance has lowered the morale in the army”. Despite Singh saying that he had merely been carrying out his responsibilities as a minister, there’s still a dispute over when the former army chief had been informed that he would be required to attend the function. Unnamed sources told the Hindu that Singh had been nominated as the government’s representative much earlier and his name had been cleared to attend the function in advance by Swaraj after receiving a list of functions from the External Affairs Ministry. An official said that  if Singh had indicated he was unavailable for the event, an official of equal rank would have been requested to go. However_, Economic Times _  report s that the Modi government had decided at the last minute to send a representative for the event and but the Ministry of External Affairs level was reluctant to oblige. Swaraj reportedly said she had no intention of attending the event and even Singh had also refused to go. On Monday evening, when the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly called Swaraj and asked her to attend, she said she wouldn’t be able to make it. The former army chief was then reportedly sent instead. Sending the former army chief to the event may not have been the brightest idea. As Firstpost’s Sandipan Sharma points out in his piece, the former general’s behaviour is symptomatic of the BJP’s discomfort on issues related to Pakistan and Kashmir.

“Having won the election on jingoistic rhetoric, promises of just and quick retribution against every slight, real or perceived, by Pakistan, many in the BJP find it difficult to soften down," he noted.

The former general may have held on to his post for now with the Modi government perhaps unwilling to prolong the controversy. But Singh will need to keep his tweeting fingers in check to ensure he doesn’t run afoul of his prime minister, who has shown no reluctance in shifting ministers he deems inconvenient to the government’s functioning.