New Delhi: As Army Chief Gen VK Singh hung up his boots at the end of a controversial tenure, Defence Minister AK Antony on Thursday asked officials to forget the `turbulence` of recent times and not to carry its `baggage`.
In the last over one year, the Defence Ministry and the army were engaged in a running battle over Gen VK Singh`s date of birth issue and some other issues which had brought strains in the relationship between them.
In a meeting with top officials including Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, the Minister said the "turbulent phase and bitterness" of the last several months should be forgotten by all, sources said here.
Antony said officials should not carry the baggage of this period during which the Army Chief also dragged the Government to court over his age issue.
He also asked the officials to ignore the period as an "aberration" and work towards helping the army in its modernization efforts.
Antony told the officials that they should keep in mind the `cordiality` shown by Gen V K Singh in his press conference yesterday in Pune and interaction with the media today.
Sources said during his meeting with the new Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh the Minister advised him to carry forward the process of modernisation and promised him all possible support in this direction.
PTI
