Army chief says some people are trying to throw muck at army and govt
Indian Army chief General VK Singh yesterday dismissed as “absolutely stupid” a report that suggested a coup bid on the basis of movement of two key army units towards the capital”.
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The comments come a day after the Indian government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the defence minister thrashed the report as alarmist as well as baseless.
Punish the guilty: The Army chief, currently on a visit to Kathmandu, Nepal said that the people behind this ‘mischief’ should be taken to task. File pic
Singh, on a two-day visit to attend a seminar hosted by the Nepalese army, said the report was “deplorable” and that some people were trying to throw muck at the government and the army.
“This is absolutely stupid,” was his reply when asked to comment on the Indian Express full front page report on Wednesday claiming the Raisina Hills, the seat of the Indian government, was “spooked” on January 16 after the troop movement.
“Whosoever is trying to make stories against the army chief is deplorable. What it shows is that people are unnecessarily trying to throw muck at both the government and the army. Such people should be taken to task,” he said.
The Express said the Hisar-based Mechanised Infantry unit and elements from the airborne 50 Para Brigade in Agra moved towards the capital on the night of Jan 16, without following the standard operating procedure of informing the defence ministry in advance.
The report said since this happened when General Singh was waging a judicial battle against the government over his age row, it created unease and suspicion in Delhi. But the paper left it short of calling it a coup bid.
“It (the report) seems like somebody’s mischief,” Singh said, adding that he “can’t keep guessing” who was playing mischief or why it was being played.
Come destress in my yoga camp: Ramdev to Army Chief
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has urged General VK Singh to attend his yoga camp “to get rid of stress or tension that he has been facing” after raising major corruption charges.
“I request the Army chief to take the benefit of my yoga camp after retirement to enjoy life free of stress,” he said.
He also invited the Army Chief to join his campaign against corruption after retirement. “I invite him,” Ramdev said here before launching a range of consumer ayurvedic products by his company in Patna yesterday.
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