File Photo of General VK Singh
The opposition Congress is demanding that General VK Singh, former army chief, resign as union minister over his tweets against the officer selected to be India's next army commander, Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag.
"General VK Singh's tweets are a disgrace," said Captain Amarinder Singh, former chief minister of Punjab, and one of just 44 Congress parliamentarians - the party hit its worst defeat in the recent national election, which was swept by Narendra Modi and the BJP.
General Singh's tweets were raised in Parliament today, with members of different parties deriding them as inappropriate. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley intervened to affirm, "As far as government is concerned, appointment (of Lt Gen Suhag as Army Chief) is final and the government stands by it." (
Lt Gen Suhag's appointment as Army Chief is Final: Government)
When he was army chief, General VK Singh had initiated disciplinary action against Lt Gen Suhag for allegedly failing to fix responsibility for a botched intelligence operation that allegedly took place in the North-East on his watch in December 2011.
An internal army enquiry then cleared Lt Gen Suhag of the charges and he was promoted to Eastern Commander, placing him in line for a future role as army chief. (
Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag is India's new Army Chief)In a series of tweets yesterday, General Singh attacked Lt Gen Suhag, accusing him of permitting his unit to indulge in "dacoity."
"Would you have ever imagined General Kariappa or Thimmaya doing this?" Captain Amarinder Singh said today, referring to two of India's most-respected army commanders.
The Congressman said that the investigation into the charges against Lt Gen Suhag was handled appropriately by "an institutional mechanism in the army."
"You don't have to tweet about this," he said, "It demoralises the soldiers at our borders or those who are fighting insurgents."