and headless fools have already started moaningSC is yet to admit the petition & media has already found their next monthly fodder
lol you saw true pic of media now ? when katju said media is run by fools and crooks everyone bashed him.This PIL in SC shows there seems to be kind of two sections in India Army, one is pro-politicians ( money making lobby) & others are VKS types. Now both lobbys are on course to head on collision. The media is acting as mouthpiece of the propaganda created by those in power.
Recently , the media has shown it's true color that they are no better than any other scumbags
No, there are no 2 sides.two sides are fighting, looks like things would go real ugly soon, plus some vested interest are making fools out of every one. Instituion is going to suffer.
I would like to disbelief the contention in this PIL.PIL alleges communal angle to Army chief General VK Singh's age row
NEW DELHI: The row over the affairs of the Army and its equations with the government continues to turn murkier, with a PIL in the Supreme Court alleging a "communal conspiracy behind" the rejection of Army chief General VK Singh's claim for revision of his date of birth.
The PIL, filed by retired Navy chief L Ramdas, former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami, three senior former Army officials and others, say that ex-Army chief JJ Singh, currently the governor of Arunchal Pradesh, masterminded " Operation Moses" to clear the way for Lt Gen Bikram Singh to succeed Gen VK Singh.
The PIL challenging Lt Gen Bikram Singh's appointment, which has been submitted to the SC registry, has said the Arunachal governor enjoyed blessings from the highest level, and that was why the conspiracy against Gen VK Singh succeeded even when he enjoyed the sympathies of defence minister AK Antony.
The PIL does not take names, but insinuates that JJ Singh could not have succeeded without support from the highest echelons, considering that he being Arunachal governor was in no position to influence the line of succession after he retired.
Bikram Singh, who is the Army chief-designate, would not have taken the top rank in the force if the incumbent's plea for the revision of his age had been accepted: something that would have extended Gen VK Singh's tenure to May 31, 2013.
The damning charges in the PIL, including the alleged communal dimension of the "plot" to deny VK Singh an extended tenure, were confirmed by petitioner's counsel, senior lawyer Kamini Jaiswal. "It is unfortunate yet true that the present day politicians have succeeded in dividing all institutions on communal lines. The PIL has placed facts before the court and it is for the court to arrive at a conclusion and save the country," Jaiswal said.
The disclosure of the sensational charge followed the stunning allegation by VK Singh that "rogue elements in bureaucracy" concocted an impression of muscle flexing by his supporters to drive a wedge between him and the government. Explaining why a routine exercise was painted as a coercive attempt to force government's hands, the Army chief even went on to refer to a newspaper report that had blamed an unnamed Union minister of orchestrating the impression of a crisis: a first for a serving chief.
The petition arguing for scrapping Bikram Singh's appointment as chief of Army staff, harps on the role of someone at the top in determining the line of succession that favored the chief-designate. It says that there were "constant references to orders from above", while Antony would acknowledge that his hands were tied.
The petitioners claim that there were "constant reference to 'orders from above'" remains baffling. "Gen JJ Singh, despite being the chief architect of the 'line of succession', was the Arunachal governor with no direct authority over the defence minister," the PIL says, when discussing how this particular decision ensure Bikram Singh becomes the Army chief.
"Orders from above virtually gave the bureaucrats in the ministry licence to flex muscle; a series of selected leaks began to paint Gen V K Singh as a conniving officer who was desperate to gain an additional 10 months in office, either by hook or by crook," allege the petitioners.
They claim that Antony "repeatedly let it be known that though he sympathized with General VK Singh, his 'hands were tied' in the matter and that the pre-determined line of succession had to be maintained at all costs."
The petitioners have alleged Bikram Singh is facing a case in the J&K high court in an alleged case of fake encounter and that his lack of control over Indian peacekeeping force in Congo when the sex scandal broke out is still under probe, claiming that his appointment should not be approved on the same ground on which PJ Thomas was removed as the CVC.
PIL alleges communal angle to Army chief General VK Singh's age row - The Times of India
:: Bharat-Rakshak.com - Indian Military News Headlines ::He proved during the last months of his tenure that to command the Indian Army, one's professional qualities and battle-field achievements alone are not sufficient. One requires leadership qualities like firmness in man management combined with fairness to subordinates and colleagues, discretion, an ability to win the respect of the colleagues and establish an atmosphere of trust with the political leadership.
India has been a successful democracy. Its success has been due to not only its voters and its electoral system, but also to the responsible behaviour of the heads of its institutional pillars. Our Army has always been one of the important institutional pillars of our nation and democracy.
In our 65 years of history as an independent nation, we have had instances of honest differences of opinion between the COAS and the political leadership and between the COAS and his senior colleagues.
They were handled in a way as they ought to be handled in a sensitive institution like the army -- with a sense of balance, with mutual respect despite the differences, with discretion and away from the glare of publicity. We, the people, became aware of such instances long after the COAS concerned had gone into superannuation.
It went to the credit of those chiefs that they saw to it that their differences did not damage the trust of the political leadership and the public in our proud Army. An army marches on its pride and its image in the eyes of the public.
If the pride and the image are damaged, even the best of weapons and training will be of little avail in maintaining the battle-hardiness of the army.
In his last months as the chief, Singh played to the gallery and exhibited in public a viciousness towards some of his senior colleagues, the like of which will not do credit to any institution, particularly the army.
We have had instances of viciousness in leadership in other institutions of the government dealing with national security, but such viciousness was never exhibited in public and did not make the institutions the laughing stock of the public.
Firmness and fairness in man management is the most important quality the heads of the Armed Forces should have. The esprit de corps, which keeps them fighting fit all the time and under all circumstances, depends on those qualities.
Gen Singh showed himself to be lacking in those qualities. The Indian Army, that has never been accused or suspected of factionalism, became a breeding ground of factionalism. The relationship of mutual trust and mutual respect between the political and military leadership which has been the bedrock of our successful democracy stands eroded.
Over the years, there has been a demand from strategic analysts in the country for giving our Armed Forces a greater role in decision and policy making in national security matters on par with practices in Western democracies. The government of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh [ Images ] had initiated a major exercise to see how this can be done.
Any decision to give the Armed Forces a greater role in decision and policy-making in defence and national security related matters has to be that of the political leadership. It would depend on its confidence in the sense of balance, discretion and responsibility of the military leadership.
That confidence is likely to have been eroded by the way Gen Singh conducted himself in his sunset months as the COAS. A major casualty of his behaviour could be the exercise to associate the military leadership with policy and decision making in an increasing measure.
The last months of Gen Singh as the COAS were a bad dream for the country. It is hoped that his successor will repair the damage quickly and make the Army once again one of the important institutional pillars of our democracy and re-establish its esprit de corps.