RJD, Samajwadi Party demand sacking of Army chief

After the ruckus over the Army chief’s letter to the Prime Minister on shortage of ammunition in the forces, UPA allies, RJD and Samajwadi Party, demanded the dismissal of General VK Singh.

As the uproar over the letter led to angry scenes in the Rajya Sabha, Janata Dal-United leader Shivanand Tiwari was the first to demand the sacking of the army chief.

“This is a matter of serious indiscipline, the army chief should be sacked… if we don’t take an action, it can become a bad tradition,” said Tiwari, reported Times Of India .

Echoing him, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav told reporters outside parliament that “responsibility should be fixed and strict action should be taken. If General Singh is responsible, he must be sacked and jailed”.

Emphasising that the integrity of the nation should not be compromised, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said that the Army Chief’s letter to the Prime Minister raised serious concerns on the security of India.

Leaders from the Left demanded a thorough inquiry and said strict action should be taken. “Examine into the leak, fix responsibility and punish whosoever is responsible,” CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said that the Army Chief has political ambitions, “He should be sacked immediately. Why was he silent all these days if there was shortage of ammunition,” he told reporters outside Parliament.

Union Minister Vayalar Ravi said Army Chief’s letter to the PM reflects “frustrations” of an individual, who had to withdraw his petition on the age row in the Supreme Court.

Following a ruckus in Parliament on Army Chief’s letter to  the PM, Defence Minister AK Antony clarified that the country’s defence preparedness has always been strong.

Lamenting the publishing of the contents of secret correspondence within the government, Antony said that such activities do not provide any purpose. “Such issues can’t be matter of public debate,” he said.

The Defence Minister said that in matters of national security, all parties were united. Antony said that he would consult the Prime Minister and colleagues and then take appropriate action.