New Delhi: BJP on Thursday slammed the government
over the age controversy of Army Chief General VK Singh,
saying the matter should not have come into the public domain
and the Manmohan Singh dispensation should have dealt with it
expeditiously within closed doors.
"This is a case which reflects that government has taken
leave of statecraft. An issue involving the army chief should
have been sorted out expeditiously and within closed doors,"
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told
reporters.
General Singh and the Ministry of Defence have been
involved in a tussle for the last several months over the
former's date of birth and his retirement. While Singh
maintains that his date of birth is May 10, 1951 the
government has said it is May 10, 1950 as per its records.
BJP, which had been silent all along on this issue, spoke
for the first time today on the matter.
"The country cannot allow to have it prolonged and in
the public domain. We only wish the government had realised
the implication of prolonging the issue," Jaitley said.
The government has indicated that General Singh may have
to retire in May this year itself. There are reports that the
search for his successor has already begun and Lieutenent
General Bikram Singh is the front-runner.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 22:46