March 29, 2012
Facing demands for his dismissal, Army Chief Gen. V. K. Singh on Thursday
said the leak of his letter to the Prime Minister presenting a grim picture of
the force’s defence preparedness should be treated as “high treason” and the
source of leakage dealt with “ruthlessly.”
Defence
sources said that Intelligence Bureau has been asked to inquire into leak of
the letter to the media.
As
tension between him and the government escalated over the letter, Gen. Singh
hit back saying a “cynical approach” to tarnish his reputation should stop.
In a
statement released by Army Headquarters, Gen. Singh, who is currently in Jammu and Kashmir
“The
leakage of the letter should be treated as high treason. Cynical approach to
tarnish my reputation should stop. Sources of the leakage should be found and
dealt with ruthlessly,” said Gen. Singh, who is due to retire on May 31.
Gen.
Singh’s letter led to demands by SP, JD(U) and RJD for his dismissal yesterday
even as the Government and the Opposition agreed that his concerns should not
have come out in the open.
There was
a strong demand to launch a probe how the letter was leaked to the media. It
was also felt that the Army Chief should have first raised his concerns on the
risk to the country’s security directly with the Defence Minister. The General
was also accused of breach of discipline.
The media
leak of the letter came on top of an acrimony between the Army Chief and the
government since early this week over his media interview in which he had
claimed that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by a retired Lt. Gen for
swinging a sub-standard defence deal.
“I have
made serious note of the observations. After consulting the Prime Minister and
colleagues, we will take appropriate action,” Mr. Antony said in Rajya Sabha
yesterday after members expressed concern over issues of national security.
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