Army Units movement Story absolutely Stupid: Army Chief
KATHMANDU: Army Chief General VK Singh on Thursday joined the political leadership in dismissing 'The Indian Express' story on the suspicious movement of two key Army units towards Delhi in January 2012, which reportedly "spooked" the Central Government. "This is absolutely stupid," was all that the Army Chief said in Nepal's capital Kathmandu while reacting to the Army units movement report. The terse statement was his first since the controversy broke leading to rumours that the Army had planned a coup when General Singh was involved in a bitter battle with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government over his date of birth.The Army Chief is in Kathmandu to attend a three-day seminar on Natural Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance.'The Indian Express' on Wednesday said it stood by the report that came after investigation over six weeks and was jointly written by the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta. In a statement, the newspaper said the report "The January night Raisina Hills was spooked: Two key Army units moved towards Delhi without notifying government" has, as expected, prompted widespread reaction.
The Prime Minister and the Defence Ministry had rubbished the report on 'suspicious' movement of Army troops calling it 'alarmist' and 'totally baseless'. In a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday just a few hours after The Indian Express story was published, Manmohan Singh said that the media report should not be taken on face value. "The Army Chief's office is an exalted office and nothing should be done to lower its dignity," he added.
A report in The Indian Express claimed that the Indian Army had moved two units towards New Delhi without notifying the government on January 16. An investigation by the Indian Express newspaper claims that the incident took place hours after Army Chief General VK Singh had moved the Supreme Court on his age controversy.
The Indian Army also rubbished the report saying the movement of Army troops was routine with Defence Minister AK Antony calling it as 'totally baseless'. "There is nothing unusual in such movement of Army troops. The Army has explained this. We are confident about the patriotism of the Armed forces," Antony said. "Indian armed forces will do nothing to undermine democracy," he added. Former defence officers, senior bureaucrats and journalist said that there was indeed a widening fissure between the Indian Army and the Central Government, leading to such speculations.
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