New Delhi: In its first reaction on the
issue, RSS came out in support of Army chief Gen VK
Singh on the age controversy and slammed the government for
pitting itself against him on "flimsy grounds".
"The Army chief who vowed to cleanse the system and
restore the reputation of the Indian armed forces has become
the fall guy. This is what happens when the system patronises
mediocrity and denounces meritocracy," RSS mouthpiece
'Organiser' said in its editorial.
It said the country had never envisaged a situation where
the government on "very flimsy grounds" would pit itself
against the army chief, who was forced to drag the government
to the apex court for justice.
"...it has lost all moral authority. A sagacious and
popular Defence Minister or Prime Minister would not have
allowed the escalation of such a situation. AK Antony is a
good man...But he as Defence Minister is a big anachronism of
our democracy..." it read.
Earlier this month, Gen Singh filed a writ petition in
the apex court challenging the Defence Ministry's rejection of
his contention that his date of birth should be May 10,1951
and not May 10,1950 as fixed.
As per the government's decision, Gen Singh will retire
on May 31 this year.
PTI
First Published: Monday, January 23, 2012, 23:09