Lt Gen should not have made notice public,says Army Chief

“If Lt Gen (Dalbir Singh) Suhag wishes to go out in public and show the show-cause notice issued to him to media or public… such things are not approved of in the forces,” the General said,replying to questions after addressing a rally of the Himachal chapter of ex-servicemen here Friday.

General Singh had issued a show-cause notice to the Lt Gen last week,asking him to explain why a censure should not be recorded against him for his alleged “unprofessional and lackadaisical manner” in handling an intelligence unit accused of botching up an operation in Jorhat.

The 9 Corps of Army organised the rally in association with former Congress leader Major (retd) Vijay Singh Mankotia who indicated that the General would assume some kind of a “leadership” role after his retirement on May 31.

“There is a crisis of leadership in the country and we are eagerly waiting for the beginning of a new dawn when General VK Singh retires. There shall be no goodbyes,no farewells. On May 31,when you (Gen Singh) retire,we assure you full support,” Mankotia said.

General Singh watching,Mankotia slammed the Centre,echoing the language of Team Anna.

“Many foreign rulers invaded had India and robbed us; but these days,our own governments and politicians are robbing us,like never before. Governments come and go,but this loot has not stopped,” Mankotia said. “Everybody is bothered about spot-fixing,match-fixing in IPL but these days,every day,spot fixing is done and nobody is doing anything about it. Delhi does not bother about us. Aaj Delhi mein hamari koi kadar nahi; balki gadar hi gadar hai (there is no respect these days for us in Delhi; but it’s utter chaos)… It’s beyond tolerance now,we must strengthen our Commander and support him,whenever required.”

“General V K Singh has fought a battle of principles and succeeded. He is a man of integrity,impeccable reputation and is extremely honest. We shall definitely succeed under his leadership”,added Mankotia who had resigned from the Congress after differences with Union Minister and former CM Virbhadra Singh.

Honouring Gen Singh,Mankotia presented him with a set of bow and arrows. “Since he belongs to a land where the legendary battle of Kauravs and Pandavas took place,the battle is yet not over and I present him with this set of bow and arrows to begin a new battle.”

Addressing the rally,General Singh announced several welfare schemes for ex-servicemen.

“We all,one day,are going to fall in the category of ex-servicemen; thus we are trying our level best to do whatever we can,while in uniform,” he added.

He pointed out that a survey by the 12 Corps in Rajasthan had resulted in clearance of pension arrears to the tune of Rs 22 crore to ex-servicemen.

On the “one rank,one pension” issue,he said: “The issue has been accepted by the Parliamentary Committee and even the Defence Minister is in favour of this but for some reason,the rule is yet to be implemented… In fact,only Rs 1,300 crores shall be required to fulfil this scheme. I hope it is implemented in the coming two-three months.”

Asked about his post-retirement plans,Gen Singh said: “I have not given it a thought as on date.”