Political slugfest starts over Army Chief’s appointment

New Delhi: Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat’s appointment as India’s new Army Chief ahead of two more senior officers sparked a fierce political row between a section of the Opposition and the government on Sunday. The Congress and the Left asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spell out the “compelling reasons”, while the government said it followed standard norms and did not require the permission of 10, Janpath (Congress chief’s residence) for the same.

The BJP also hit back, saying issues related to the defence forces should not be politicised. The slugfest comes at a time when the Opposition is bitterly opposed to the government’s demonetisation move, disrupting an almost entire Parliament session.   

In a rare decision for the Army which follows seniority in appointments, the new chief was handpicked for the top job over two senior officers — Eastern Army commander Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi and Southern Army commander Lt. Gen. P.M. Hariz. In 1983, General A.S. Vaidya was made the 13th Army Chief overlooking the seniority of Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha.

Congress leader Manish Tewari said while Lt. Gen. Rawat may perhaps have all the requisite credentials but the “fact remains that in a hierarchy-conscious organisation where the principle of seniority is almost sacrosanct,” the “supersession” of senior officers raises “extremely serious and critical questions of institutional integrity”.

“Why does the Army have to go through unnecessary bloodletting at the top … is it whimsical cherry-picking? The Prime Minister himself should spell out the compelling reasons behind this supersession,” he said.  

CPI’s D. Raja said appointments in the Army have become controversial. “… all top-level appointments are becoming very controversial. This is very unfortunate, not in the interest of democracy and the country,” he said.

Currently, the Vice-Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Rawat is a counterinsurgency specialist and has LoC and China border experiences. He will take over from General Dalbir Singh Suhag as the head of the 1.3 million strong force on December. 31. The government also announced on Saturday its new Air Force chief, besides heads of its external and internal intelligence agencies.

Congress leader Shehzad Poonawalla tweeted that Mr Modi did not want Lt. Gen. P.M. Hariz, who he claimed would have “been the first Muslim to head the Army after Lt. Gen. Bakshi.” Some reports said that the government might create a post of the Chief of Defence Staff and Gen. Bakshi may be named India’s first CDS.

Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi lambasted the Congress, saying the government followed standards norms and does not require the permission of 10, Janpath (Congress chief’s residence) for the same. “I think till now the Congress is not able to understand that they have lost power at the Centre,” he said.

The BJP said that by politicising the appointment, parties are showing their frustration following successive electoral defeats. “The government appoints people based on what it considers to be the most appropriate choice,” BJP spokesman G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said.

The BJP said the new army chief was picked up from a pool of five senior-most officers, who are all competent, and Lt. Gen. Rawat’s appointment should not be seen as a negative against others.

BJP’s Shrikant Sharma said the Congress was showing its “frustration” after it has been pushed to the “margins” of national politics.

On Saturday, the government also named Air Marshal B.S. Dhanoa as the new Chief of the IAF, besides appointing IPS officer Rajiv Jain as the new chief of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Anil Dhasmana as the new head of the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s external intelligence agency.